Conflict of the Heart
by IndigoBlueButterfly
Summary: Hinata Ame and Ema, with names like that they should be twins, but they're happy just being biological sisters. Ame is pretty sure that throwing two girls in a house of 13 boys was a terrible idea on her father's part, but she'll go along with it for Ema's sake. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, let me just say that yes, I am aware of the fact that I should be working on _Black and Red_ or _La Chasseresse Rouge_ right now, or at least daydreaming about my Hetalia fic, and _not_ writing fanfiction for a reverse harem anime I finished binge-watching at 3 a.m yesterday morning. However, you must know one crucial thing about me:**

 **I HAVE ZERO SELF CONTROL.**

 **So, without further ado *flings the first chapter out there* I needed to get this off my chest so I could stop daydreaming about a bunch of cute boys. I own nothing other than Ame.**

 **First Meeting**

There are certain events that seem incredibly unlikely to occur, even at best. These events are the sort of things you consider when you're bored, or half asleep at night. Those little _what if?_ scenarios that you debate internally, before shrugging them off to focus on the real world. A world where those thoughts have no place.

At least, that was what I always thought.

"I still can't wrap my head around this," I joined my younger sister Ema at the window of the train. I say younger, but we're more like twins. The difference between us was just a year and a few months, and we never quite grew up thinking of ourselves as younger/older sisters.

Of course, I was always responsible for Ema, for keeping her safe and out of trouble, but I've never been sure whether that was because I was older, or if I was just naturally protective of her. I mean, I love my sister, and she's cute and sweet and a lovely human being, but she's _really_ defenceless and vulnerable when it comes to bullies or people who want to take advantage of her.

Which was why, mixed with my excitement was a sense of worry. "Chii-chan, you need to keep your guard up against these wolves!" A squeaky and mildly imperious voice chirped. It came from Ema's bag or, to be more specific, it came from the fluffy grey and white squirrel scampering out of the bag and up her arm. "There are a total of 13 after all!"

"Juli, they're not wolves," she smiled softly as the train drew to a stop. "They're our brothers, right Ame-chan?"

I grinned for her benefit, hiding my worry, and shrugged carelessly. "Well, yeah they are. Come on Juli, let's give 'em the benefit of doubt, huh?" After all, Ema had always wanted a big family. Papa wasn't home often, and it was always just the two of us taking care of each other. A big house full of people to talk to, that actually sounded really exciting.

Juli huffed and folded his arms across his fluffy chest. "I don't believe that in the least! At least I'll be there to watch out for those perverted wolves. M-chan, you'd better do the same when I'm not around!"

"Roger!" I snapped to attention and saluted cheekily. "Commencing operation _Protect Ema-chan's Purity_ is a go!"

Ema sighed at me but she was still smiling. "Oh would you two stop? I told you, they're not wolves!"

"But we don't know that!" I hooked my arm around her shoulders and made my voice all deep and creepy. "What if they turn out to be weirdos who take pictures of you while you sleep?"

Juli screeched in horror while my sister giggled at my antics. "You're being very dramatic. And why me? What happened to you?"

I snorted and twirled around to face her while walking backwards. "I'll knee them in the stomach, why are you even asking? Who do you think I am – BUBBLES!"

After dragging me away from the magical bubble-blowing machine in the streets, we followed the directions on the small piece of paper with the address of our new home. All our things had been moved prior to this time, so the small bags we carried only contained toiletries, snacks, and basic sundry items. Ema glanced down at the paper. "It's just a little further now."

"Yes, a little further before we reach the battlefield!"

"Juli, and here I thought _I_ was the overprotective one," I snickered. _Please let it go well, for Ema-chan's sake at least._

It took two more minutes of walking before we spotted the building. There was a large truck just preparing to drive off, I suppose our things had only just arrived. There were two people standing outside the house to see the truck off, a tall man with pale brown hair, and a short boy with seashell pink hair. We hurried over. "Excuse me, um..."

"Hello, I already had your luggage moved up to your rooms," the older one smiled down at us. "I am the oldest son, Masaomi. This is the youngest, Wataru." Masaomi, huh? He had a kind face, and an easy demeanour, and I could feel myself relaxing marginally in his presence.

Wataru smiled up at us with childish happiness. "Hi, big sisters!"

 _Aw, I actually have a little brother! And he's so cute! I want to high-five the universe!_ I bent over so I was face to face with him. "Hello, Wataru-chan! Please take care of us from now on!"

His smile grew even wider at that. "I will! Big sis, will you play with me?"

"Now, now Wataru," Masaomi scolded gently. "Ame-chan and Ema-chan are probably tired. Shouldn't you let them rest a bit first?"

The younger brother pouted, which was ridiculously adorable. "Don't worry Wataru-kun," I grinned. "Since we'll be living here now, we can play together often, okay?"

Wataru lit up at my words, and cheered loudly. Juli peeked out from behind Ema's shoulders to appraise them. "Hmm, these two seem relatively harmless," he said. "However, I shall withhold my judgement until we meet the rest!"

Masaomi led us to our rooms. "Ema-chan, this will be your room, and Ame-chan's room will be right across from yours," he gestured to the line of doors. "Ah, Ema-chan, your room used to belong to one of my brothers, so I apologize if any of his belongings are still inside."

 _As long she doesn't stumble across something weird._ "Thank you, Masaomi-san," Ema thanked him and we both bowed.

He laughed and waved his hands at us. "Ah, that's too formal," he replied. "After all, we're siblings now, right?"

 _That's true._ "Then...Masaomi-kun?" I tried hesitantly, and relaxed when he nodded with a smile. He then left us to get settled in a bit. "I hope all our brothers are as nice as he is."

"I hope so too," Ema smiled. I dropped my bag on her bed and stretched while she decided to look through one of the boxes. "Should we change now?"

"Nah, let's explore a bit!" I beamed and dropped my arms, spinning on my toes. I almost knocking over another box in the process, but that was ignored. There was no point changing immediately, I figured. Instead, I wanted to explore the house and I needed Ema to be with me because I was severely directionally challenged and would probably get lost in a bathroom or something equally embarrassing and that was _not_ how I wanted to meet my new family.

We made our way downstairs to main room. "Ema-chan, this TV is huge!" I gaped at the large flatscreen TV that took up the better part of the wall. "Ema-chan, are you seeing this?! How many channels do you think we can get on this thing? I say 500. No, wait, 600!"

"Ame-chan, you're getting too excited," she giggled at me. "We're going to be living here now, you'll be able to find out for yourself."

Maybe, in the distant future, when I stopped feeling like a guest in what was supposed to be my new home maybe. That would take a while. "Ah, are these my new little sisters?" We both turned at the new voice in the room.

Two men stepped out of an elevator, both smiling at us. One had white hair arranged in a messy manner that covered one eye, and the other had dark purple hair that covered the opposite eye. Both had deep, violet coloured eyes, and looked incredibly similar in spite of the difference in hair colour.

I was so busy analyzing them that I hardly noticed when the white-haired one came closer and drew both of us into a hug. _What?_ "It's a _nice to meet you_ hug~!"

You don't know this about me yet, but I love hugs. Big hugs, small hugs, hugs that devolve into cuddles, spinning hugs, you name it and I am down, so my wide-eyed expression wasn't one of shock and confusion (like Ema's), but of complete delight. I was more or less squealing with unabashed delight on the inside.

I would have returned the hug and squeeze, had the second person not whacked him over the head, knocking him over. _Awww. Oh, there you are Juli,_ the gray squirrel hissed and climbed up Juli's arm to rest on her shoulder so he could glare at the other person. "I'm sorry about Tsubaki," he smiled at us. "I am Azusa. Please take care of me."

 _Will do!_ "That hurt you know, Azusa~!" The white-haired one – Tsubaki, I believe – whined as he got up. Huh, they really did look similar. "Were you thinking that we looked similar?" I started at that and he grinned.

"We're identical twins," Azusa explained. _Oh, well that makes sense._ That aside, there was something familiar about them. I felt like I'd heard their voices from somewhere...

"You two are too loud," someone said. A new person came out of the kitchen, wheeling a tray of tea and coffee ahead of himself. He had short blonde hair arranged neatly on a chiseled face, and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. He was dressed like a business man, in a red dress shirt, black waistcoat, and black dress pants. Like everyone else in this family apparently (barring Wataru), he was tall. _This is beginning to get on my nerves._

Considering that I was an inch shorter than Ema, I did have a tiny little complex about my height.

"Please to meet you," the blonde smiled down at us. "My name is Ukyo and I work as a lawyer."

We bowed politely. "Nice to meet you," Ema said nervously. "Please take care of us."

Tsubaki hugged us again, just as tightly as before. "Yes, please do~!" Once again I was about to return the hug, in spite of Juli's hissing, but someone new yelled.

"Tsuba-nii, what the hell are you doing in the house?" I looked up and spotted redhead on the balcony above the living room. He was dressed in some variation of what looked like Ema's school uniform.

"Ah, Yusuke, welcome home!" Tsubaki grinned, loosening his grip on us, but not fully releasing us.

The boy hissed in annoyance. "It's not _welcome home_! Bringing home a girl is just-" there he cut himself off, suddenly fixing his eyes on Ema. They lit up in recognition and he scrambled down the stairs. "W-Wh-Wh-You?!"

Oh dear, if that really was Ema's school uniform, then was he someone she knew? "Asahina-kun?" Ema tilted her head to the side and I winced internally. Worse, he one of Ema's classmates. Now that she mentioned his name, I'm pretty sure she'd mentioned him once, maybe twice? _Awkward._

Ukyo stared at Tsubaki. "I'm sure I told you to inform Yusuke of this?"

Tsubaki looked away with a snicker and Yusuke snarled at him. "Tsuba-nii, you didn't tell me on purpose!"

"On purpose? You make me sound like a bad person," Tsubaki pouted, pulling the innocent act. I covered my mouth with my hand so no one would catch me giggling. I caught Tsubaki's mischievous smirk, and nearly choked on my repressed laughter.

Yusuke glared at his brother for a few more seconds, then glanced at my sister, before scowling at the ground. "I won't accept this," he muttered, walking past us. "My classmate can't be my sibling."

"Eh, what are you saying? You won't accept what?" Tsubaki followed him, taunting him cheerfully. I stared after them curiously. _...wait, is this...does he...?_ If so, then wow this was turning out to be the plot of a plot soap opera.

Ema turned to me, her confusion clear in her expression. She was probably wondering what she'd done to make Yusuke dislike her presence so much. Juli jumped on her shoulder and peered at her worriedly. "What's wrong, Chii-chan? Your face doesn't look so good."

I took her hand in mine. "It's not your fault," I told her quietly. "Whatever's up with Yusuke, you're not the cause, okay?" She nodded and gave a small smile. I pinched her cheek gently. "There we go! Just because we moved here doesn't mean I want you to let boys make you sad, got it? I didn't raise you like this!"

She giggled and nodded. "Yes, Ame-chan."

 _Apparently, when it comes to love, there **is** such a thing as being too close._ This was going to be fun. Or awkward. Or both.

Just then, I heard the quiet rustle and click of beads, and steady footsteps on the stairs. The man coming down was dressed like a Buddhist monk, in purple and black regalia, and fingering a string of silver prayer beads. He was a darker blonde than Ukyo, with hazel eyes, and skin that just was a few shades darker than his brothers'.

Well, I'm not an expert or anything, but I was pretty certain that he was the textbook definition for the word _gorgeous._ Also for the word _Casanova._ By that, I mean he looked like a born charmer. It showed not only in his appearance, but in the way he held himself and the way he moved his body, the way he smiled at us as he approached the small party that had gathered in the living room.

"We finally meet, little sisters," he stopped in front of Ema and I. His voice, and the smile he gave us were positively sultry, as he took our hands and lifted them to his lips. "If you ever want to hear some prayers, come to big brother anytime."

 _What?_ Ema's face was pink, but I was made of sterner stuff dammit. I don't swoon. Honestly, I don't think I'm capable of swooning anymore. That got burned out of me a _long_ time ago. "Oi, Kana-nii!" Yusuke yelled from somewhere behind us.

Juli hopped off Ema's shoulder and scampered over to the hand closest to the blonde's face. "Juli, I don't think-!" Too late, the squirrel swiped across his nose with tiny claws, forcing him to release us to tend to his wounds. _Goddammit Juli._ I sighed and walked over to where he was clutching his nose and hissing in pain. "Here, let me see..." I grabbed his hand and studied the wound carefully. It wasn't large, hardly more than a tiny superficial scratch. "Still, you should apply antiseptic to it, just in case." Juli didn't have any germs, but you never know.

He stared down at me in surprise, and then he smiled. "Thank you. I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Kaname."

I smiled back, releasing his wrist and going to stand beside my sister. "I'm Ame, I'm Ema-chan's older sister." Ema bowed nervously. "It's nice to meet you," she said softly.

Masaomi and Wataru walked into the room, and I noticed two other people that hadn't been here before. When had they arrived? One had black hair and a quiet, slightly intimidating aura, and the other had longer, silver hair and seemed mysterious. "I see you've all met," Masaomi smiled, turning to us.

 _I'm just gonna say it now: there are way too many of you. None of you better come near Ema!  
_

"Big sis!" Seeing as I was closest to the steps, Wataru slammed into me with enough force to knock me over, had I not just managed to brace myself a split second before impact. I stumbled backwards, blinking down at the small person hugging me around the waist. "Big sis, let's play!"

 _He's so cute, give me strength._ "Wataru," Masaomi scolded. "Be more careful. You could have knocked her down."

He immediately looked repentant, and murmured an apology. I crouched down and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "No worries! We'll play later, okay?"

"Okay!" He chirped. I caught Ema's eyes and she smiled at me. She knew what I was thinking, that this was what it was like to have a sibling much younger than you were. It probably wouldn't always be a bed of roses, but for now this was nice.

* * *

OXOXO

* * *

The whole family, our new family, gathered on the sofa for tea. Ema and I sat together, with Wataru on my left, then Masaomi, then Yusuke, the mysterious one who I found out was named Iori, and Ukyo. On Ema's right was Kaname, the black haired one whose name turned out to be Subaru, Tsubaki and finally Azusa.

"Were you surprised?" Iori asked. "When you found out how many siblings you were going to have? I'm sure it must be a shock..."

We nodded in reply. "We'd heard of it earlier, but it's still so..." Ema trailed off, not sure how to explain it. I had no idea how to explain it either. I had been incredibly worried about the move, nervous about whether they would be kind to Ema and I, if they would even like us, scared of an Us vs. Them situation.

I had no idea how to say any of this without offending anyone, or dampening the atmosphere, so I said nothing.

"I'm glad I have two big sisters!" Wataru leaned over to grab my hands in his smaller ones. Aw, he smelled like strawberries and cream, like kid's shampoo. Let's go play in my room! I have a big toy rabbit!"

Masaomi smiled at him and drew him back into his original place. "Wataru, let's leave that for later, alright?"

"Okay..."

I smiled at him softly, lowering my voice a bit. "I'd like that, Wataru-kun. Please show it to me later, okay?" He beamed up at me happily and nodded. They all seemed perfectly lovely, I thought. Kaname was a bit too flirty, but as long as he didn't do anything to Ema then I could live with that.

Oh yeah, that reminded me, we had thirteen brothers and so far I had only counted _one, two, three..._ nine people present. I mentioned this to Kaname. "There are still others that aren't here; two of them live separately, and the other two are at work. One of them is here," he reached for the remote of the huge TV I had been gushing over and switched it on, displaying a huge stadium full to the brim and nearly overflowing with screaming people.

On the brightly lit stage was a figure dressed in the flashy clothes of a pop idol and singing into a microphone. "It's Fuu-tan!" Wataru chirped.

"Fuu-tan?" Ema repeated, looking from the screen to the child and then back again.

Fuu-tan, or Asakura since that was his stage name, was this crazy popular idol that the vast majority of the girls in my classes were nuts for. Honestly, I have nothing against girls going nuts over pop-stars, if you like something and it's not harming you, then go ahead, I've just never been interested in the lives of popular celebrities.

That aside, I had one or two of his songs on my phone because they were pretty catchy.

Tsubaki hugged the pillow he was holding and hunched over slightly to glare at the screen. "What a fake smile..."

Asuza laughed quietly at the statement, and I stared at the screen some more. He looked...handsome yeah, okay, but also like the kind of person that I wanted to punch repeatedly in the face.

 _Whoa, stop it Ame, you don't even know him! Don't judge._

Still, this was one brother we needed to watch out for. The conversation shifted to the idol onscreen. At the moment he was touring, and was currently in Hokkaido. "Then let's ask for a Kakinawa eel as a souvenir," Ukyo suggested.

"Souvenir?" Ema asked.

"Fuuto is our brother," Masaomi explained. "Asakura is his stage name, though his real name is Asahina Yuuto. He's fifteen years old."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? Wow, that's amazing!" Seriously, a lawyer, two voice actors, and an idol, what the hell was this? I was almost jealous, until I realised that this was my family now, and I had all these amazing and above-averagely attractive brothers just cluttering up the house. The girls in my classes were going to be jealous of _me_.

I turned in Ema's direction, and caught Subaru staring at us. The second we made eye contact, however, he looked away. So maybe he wasn't intimidating, just awkward around new people. I sighed happily and leaned over to rest my head on Ema's shoulder. _Huh?_ "Ema-chan, do you feel alright?"

"Huh? Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy..." she closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. I immediately sat up and cupped her cheek, hissing at how warm she felt. "Ame-chan, it's okay..."

"You're burning up, it is _not_ okay!" I snapped, drawing everyone's attention. Ema swayed for a moment, and suddenly pitched forward. I caught her before she could hurt herself, brushing her hair away from her face. "Ema-chan!"

Masaomi got out of his seat and knelt beside me, placing a hand over her forehead. "She has a high fever," he stated. "Help me get her to a bed, I'll need to check her temperature and give her medicine to combat it."

As reluctant as I was to do so, I let Masaomi and Ukyo carry my sister to her bedroom. I was about to hurry after them, until I felt Wataru tug at my skirt. The little boy looked near tears. "I-Is sissy going to be okay?"

"Of course she is," I patted him on the head. "Sissy's going to be just fine, and then we can play together when she gets better!" He sniffled, then nodded and smiled up at me bravely. I smiled back, and quickly hurried after the two.


	2. Goodnight

**Second chapter up! I own nothing except Ame. To Guest1995 who asked what Ame looks like, she looks similar to Ema in the way siblings tend to, only with darker hair and her skin is half a shade darker.**

 **I own nothing except Ame.**

 **Goodnight**

"Honestly," I sighed, stroking my hand over Ema's forehead. "When I say _don't stress yourself_ , I really do mean _don't stress yourself so much that you faint and scare the heck out of me_. I really hate seeing you sick," I threaded my fingers through her hair gently, combing the strands out of her eyes.

Masaomi knelt beside me, while Ukyo drew the curtains shut. Ema turned her head to face us with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ame-chan. I'm sorry for worrying you all."

"Damn right you are," I muttered, kissing her forehead and nuzzling the warm but no longer burning skin. "How are you feeling?" I asked, pulling the covers higher up her chest to her chin.

"I'm feeling much better," she replied softly, her voice quiet and heavy with drug-induced drowsiness. "But I really am sorry for making you all worry so much."

Kaname spoke from his place near the doorway. "There's no need to be sorry, little sister."

"In a worst case scenario," Ukyo added. "We do have a physician."

He was referring to Masaomi, who chuckled a tad bashfully and shrugged. "More like a pediatrician," he corrected, but he smiled kindly at us nonetheless. "Just tell me if you need anything."

Ema smiled up at us gratefully, looking rather cute and helpless with the covers pulled all the way up the way they were. "Thank you very much," she said. "I'm alright already."

"Maybe, but you're still going to stay in bed and sleep off the drugs," I instructed her, cupping her cheek with my cooler hands. "I wish this hadn't happened. I should have been there to help you with everything."

Juli leaned closer to Ema. "Mai-chan, it isn't your fault. Your job kept you late, so don't blame yourself for this. You two must be tired, since you both stayed up so late last night for work, and to finalize the moving details."

"That must have been difficult for you," an unfamiliar voice spoke from the door. A new person peered in. He was pretty, I decided, with pale ash brown hair that was arranged in a gorgeously simple and messy style. His eyes were mauve, and his expression was gentle and serene.

The brothers shot him welcoming smiles from their respective places. "Oh, have you come home?" Ukyo asked.

He nodded, stepping further into the room. "Yes...I heard voices...so I came." He had a peculiar way of speaking, I noticed. Just like his demeanour, his voice was slow and relaxed, calming even.

"We mentioned him earlier," Kaname turned to us. "This is the eight son, Louis."

Ema sat up to greet him properly, and I resisted the urge to fuss at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm still dressed like this..."

Louis came closer and knelt beside me. "It's not...your fault, Chii-chan."

 _How did he know that nickname?_ "Yeah, it's not your fault," I smiled at her, brushing the thought away for the time being. "Besides, I should have gotten home earlier so I could help you anyway."

"Don't be silly...Mai-chan was working late...you were tired as well..." _How do you know that nickname?! How do you know any of this anyway?!_ He ignored the perplexed expression on my face, and continued staring at Ema. "You've both...been surrounded by people...you just met. You must have both...been tired."

Juli turned tilted his head to the side. "Did he just refer to both of you as Chii-chan and Mai-chan?"

Ema and I glanced at each other, both wondering the exact same thing. "Your hair," Louis suddenly said. He leaned over to touch Emi's hair, and then mine. "It's pretty. When you...recover from your cold...let me...rearrange your hair."

 _What?_ "Ah, Louis is a hairdresser," Ukyo explained, staving off our confusion.

"Oh..." I nodded in understanding. "Thank you." Louis smiled at us, and I smiled back.

"Do you feel dizzy when you sit up?" Masaomi asked kindly, turning the conversation back to Ema's health.

My sister shook her head. "I'm fine," she replied. "The medicine seems to have worked."

"I see," he got to his feet and turned to Ukyo. "I think you'll be fine, but let's have rice porridge for tonight's dinner."

"Ah, do you need any help?" I asked, torn between offering my services, and staying with my sister. The blonde looked like he might refuse, so I pressed on before he could. "It'll reduce the workload on both of us. Besides, I'm just spare baggage here."

He opened his mouth to decline again, and then he smiled. "Alright then."

I grinned and turned back to Ema. "Sleep," I instructed her. "Juli's in charge of making sure you don't get out of bed, alright?" The squirrel saluted in response, and I kissed my sister's forehead again, before spinning around to follow Ukyo out of the room.

"For taking a bath," he told us. "Please use the one on the fifth floor. The bath in this room is currently broken."

"I'll leave instructions on how to get there on your desks," Kaname added as the five of us backed out of the room. "Don't stay in too long. Goodnight, little sister."

He shut the door quietly, and I exhaled softly. I really hated it when Ema got sick for any reason, no matter how minor. She was always the delicate one of us both, the one that needed to be protected from things. Not protecting her made me feel like I was somehow a bad sister.

"Little sister?" Masaomi touched my shoulder, sounding concerned. I quickly fixed a smile on my face and shook my head.

"It's nothing," I replied. "I just hate seeing Ema-chan sick."

Ukyo smiled down at me, and even Kaname's normally flirty smile seemed kinder. "Ema-chan will be fine," Ukyo told me. "In the meantime, we should make her something delicious to eat when she wakes up, shouldn't we?"

"Yep!" I chirped, rocking forward and backward on the balls of my feet. Kaname wrapped an arm around my shoulders and cooed something about me being adorable as we made our way downstairs to the kitchen, but I didn't mind. Ema and I hadn't had much in terms of human contact, although she'd had more of it than I had. Kaname was warm, and his clothes were like a large blanket.

Ukyo glanced back at us and shook his head with a wry smile. Before any of us had even touched down on the landing, the other brothers were off the couch and asking about Ema. Wataru raced for me, attaching himself to my waist. I automatically stepped out of Kaname's hug to hold him closer.

 _They look...so worried,_ I stared at the boys in wonder. Of course I'd have been worried if they _hadn't_ been, but I hadn't expected this level of genuine concern. Well, it was Ema, she had that effect on lots of people.

"Ema-chan is fine," Masaomi answered. "The fever has been reduced, but she's resting right now. She will also be eating in her room for tonight."

There were sighs of relief. Ukyo directed me to the kitchen and brought out everything we needed to make the porridge. He even gave me an apron, the first one was too large, but the second one – which was pink and blue – fit a bit better. He then explained that it actually belonged to Wataru, hence the colours and smaller fit.

I started by washing the rice in the sink. Ema and I used to do the cooking back home, whether sick or healthy, though I took on the bulk of the burden more often than she did since I knew more dishes and enjoyed the act.

I started singing inaudibly as I worked, but I could hear my voice cracking terribly on the notes, so I stopped and hoped that no one had heard.

"Well done, Ame-chan," Ukyo commended, peering into the pot where the rice pudding was warming gently. "Would you mind setting the table? The plates are in that cupboard."

"Okay," I carried out a set of white china plates and cutlery, and placed them on the table.

Tsubaki sighed happily from the lounge where he and the other brothers were talking amongst themselves, and also watching me. "I could get used to this," he grinned. "Ame-chan, you look really cute in that apron."

"Big sister is wearing my apron!" Wataru beamed happily. He skipped over to me, staring at the plates I had set out. "Big sister, are you going to eat with us?"

"I want to, but Ema-chan isn't feeling well," I crouched down to look into his eyes. "Don't you think I should spend time with her?" He pouted, puffing out his cheeks, but nodded. I smiled back, and patted his head gently. "Thank you for being so kind, Wata-chan. You can come with me to see Ema-chan though, is that okay?"

He cheered happily. "Yay, I get to see sis!" He practically vibrated with joy as I dished two bowls of porridge, adding less sugar and more milk to one of them the way I knew my sister liked it, and placed it on a tray.

"Let's go, Wataru-chan." We made our way upstairs, Wataru skipping around me and ahead of me. When we reached Ema's door, he pressed the buzzer to the room, and brightened when Ema opened the door. She had changed into her pyjamas – a pink and white shirt and frilled pink bubble shorts.

She looked slightly dazed and surprised to see us. I raised the tray higher. "I brought food."

"Sis, are you feeling okay?" Wataru asked worriedly, grabbing her hand. "We won't get to play together today, but that's okay. I can wait until sis feels better!"

Ema looked surprised by the outburst, but then she smiled. "Thank you, Wataru-kun. When I feel better, we can play together."

"Yay!" He cheered. "Sis needs to eat and sleep! Eat and sleep so she can feel better!" He declared, before turning and running back the way we had come.

I snickered and arched an eyebrow at her. "You heard the kid," I stepped into the room and placed the tray down on the nearest flat surface, by that I mean one of the boxes. "Eat up! I put lots of milk in it for you."

Ema crawled back into bed, and I perched on the edge to eat. We talked about the day, our brothers, and I handed Juli the sugar cube I'd pocketed from the kitchen for him. While we ate, we could hear the voices of our new family through the ceiling and walls. It sounded pretty lively. _So this is what it's like to live with loads of people._

It was noisy, but the good noise that meant companionship and friendship, and not simple chaos. I could get used to this kind of noise. "You don't have work tomorrow?" Ema asked me.

"I asked my manager for a few days off so we could get settled in here properly," I replied, scooping the last of my porridge into my mouth. Ema was about ¾th of the way done with her bowl and slowing down. "Not finished?"

She pouted and took another spoonful. "You don't even really like rice porridge."

I didn't, but I could eat anything as long as it was doctored with enough salt or sugar. "You don't have to finish it all. You've eaten most of it anyway."

In the end, she did finish it, and I gathered up everything to wash while Ema lay down again. "Ame-chan, are you going to take a bath?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'll probably have my bath upstairs though, since I want to explore the house a bit more." Kaname had drawn two maps, one for each of us, and had left them on Ema's table. I grabbed one and stuck it in the pocket of my jeans. "Try to get some more sleep, okay?"

"Alright, Ame-chan," her response was nearly drowned out by her yawn. I shut the door and returned to the kitchen to wash up.

Most of the brothers had retired by now, leaving only Azusa, Tsubaki, Kaname, who were watching something on TV, and Ukyo, who was cleaning up in the kitchen when I walked in. He smiled at me, taking note of the empty bowls. "How is Ema-chan?"

"She's fine," I replied, coming to stand beside him. "She's sleeping right now so she'll probably be better by tomorrow morning." I hoped. Ema was delicate, in my eyes anyway.

He had already started washing the dishes, so I decided to rinse and dry them. "Ame-chan, you don't have to-"

"Too late," I sang, and then I turned to him with a sincere smile. "Besides, I don't mind. You were so kind and helpful, so please let me help."

Ukyo stared down at me for a few seconds, and then nodded. Was it just me, or was his face just a bit flushed? "Ah, Ukyo-nii, stop stealing all of my little sister's time!" Tsubaki whined, walking into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind. "Ame-chan, smile for me too!"

 _Quick, before something happens!_ I twisted around and returned the hug. I caught sight of Azusa's surprised face over Tsubaki's shoulder. He looked like he was just about to smack his twin again. Even Ukyo looked surprised by my reaction. "Ame-chan?"

 _Whoops, that was probably too weird._ I quickly pulled away from Tsubaki, my face pink. "S-Sorry, I just really like hugs and I don't get too many of them, so...I'm sorry if that was strange..."

A hand landed on the top of my head. "Well you'll get plenty of those now," Azusa said, smiling softly. "Just don't indulge him and Kana-nii too much, or they'll never let you rest."

"Hey!" I giggled at how affronted Tsubaki sounded, and he looked pleased that I had. "When you're done here, come spend some time with us."

"I will." Once Ukyo and I were done in the kitchen, I walked into the lounge quietly, sticking near the wall. "What are you watching?"

"Fuuto's on TV again," Ukyo replied. Kaname shifted a bit and patted the space between him and Azusa. I squeezed between them to watch the interview, which looked like it had only just started a few minutes ago. Instead of the flashy clothes from earlier, Fuuto was dressed in informal but stylishly designer clothes.

Unlike onstage, where he had carried a smug, near cocky aura, he now looked cheeky, playful, and almost sweet, like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "Ema and I haven't met all of you yet," I cocked my head to the side. "What's he like?"

Tsubaki snorted, looking slightly disgruntled. "He's a brat."

"Tsubaki," Ukyo scolded, although he didn't dispute it. "Fuuto's rather...difficult to get along with at first, but I'm certain you'll be able to handle him, Ame-chan."

Well, _one_ of them had to be the one to give us trouble. I could ignore any rudeness directed at me, as long as he didn't treat Ema in the same way. "So that's...ten of you? Who else haven't I met?"

"Hikaru-nii and Natsume," Kaname replied. "They don't live here. I'm sure you'll get along with both of them, don't you think Ame-chan?" He used the arm that he'd rested along the back of the couch to pull me closer.

"I hope so," I sighed, and stifled a yawn. It was getting late, and today had been tiring to say the least. "I'm should go back to my room now."

Kaname rose as well. "I might as well turn in as well." Ukyo followed our lead, but the twins stayed sitting on the couch.

"We have to practice for our next job assignment," Azusa explained, pulling my attention to a booklet I hadn't noticed was even on the table.

"We're voice actors," Tsubaki told me, seeing the curious look on my face.

Oh. _Oh!_ "Wait, have you guys heard of this show _Uta no Prince-sama?_ " _Please say yes, please say yes!_

Azusa and Tsubaki blinked at me, and then smirked. "Ame-chan, you watch anime?" The darker-haired twin asked.

"Yes! So, if you have, were you...by any chance...I mean..."

They took pity on my stumbling, stuttering self, and Tsubaki chuckled. "We were voice actors for two of the main characters in the show."

I think I was glittering by this point, just staring at them in awe because I was related by law to two voice actors from one of my favourite reverse harem animes to exist. "Ame-chan, weren't you going to bed?" Kaname asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, right. Goodnight, Azusa-sa-...Azusa-nii, Tsubaki-nii!"

Ukyo wished me goodnight when he reached his room, but Kaname insisted on escorting me all the way to my room. "How was your first day, little sister?"

"It was great," I skipped ahead a few feet, and spun on the tip of my toes. "You've all been so kind to us. Thank you for caring for Ema-chan, it really means a lot to me."

"Of course. You're our darling little sisters." We reached the door of my bedroom. "You can come to big brother for anything, Ame-chan." I nodded. "Well then, goodnight, little sister."

With that, he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. It wasn't the casual, familial peck I expected, it was the kind of kiss you might give someone at the end of a first date. However, considering Kaname's naturally flirty personality, I was pretty sure it meant nothing, and I didn't want to make a fuss about it. "Goodnight, Kaname-nii."

Once I was in my room, I spent some time skimming through the boxes of my things. I pushed a few of them to the sides, and then grabbed the bag that held my pyjamas, towel, and toiletries. "Okay, I have a map, so even I shouldn't be stupid enough to get lost."

Luckily I didn't, since the diagram and instructions were really clear. Painfully aware of the fact that the house was full of boys, I made sure to lock the bathroom door behind me. I took a quick bath, washing the sweat and dirt of the day with liberal amounts of berry-scented soap and shampoo, and lingering only to revel in the steady stream of warm water.

Someone tried to open the door as I started to change into my nightclothes. "I'm in here!" I called.

"Ah, sorry Ame-chan!" That was Subaru. I dressed quickly in an oversized blue shirt with sleeves that went way past my wrists – it had belonged to papa before I appropriated it – and a pair of fabric shorts.

Subaru was hovering a few feet from the door when I unlocked it, and he flushed when he saw me. "Sorry to make you wait!" I smiled a bit shyly, stepping out. "Also, sorry if I made the bathroom smell a lot like strawberries."

A small smile twitched at his lips. "It's alright," he told me.

The smile surprised me, and I spoke without thinking. "Thank goodness." He blinked in confusion, and I lifted my shoulders in a nervous shrug. "No, it's...you were so quiet all day, I thought you didn't like that we were here."

"I-It's not that!" He replied, his forceful tone telling me he was being sincere. "I'm just not used to talking to girls..."

I shrugged with a smile. "I'm not experienced at talking to boys either," I told him. "So this is going to be a learning experience for both of us, huh?"

He chuckled at that. "I guess so."

I shifted aside so he could step past me and into the bathroom. "Goodnight, Subaru-nii!"

 _At least he doesn't seem to hate us,_ I thought to myself, drying my hair as much as I could with my towel before it dripped all over the floors. My hair was a few shades darker than Ema's, and longer as well. This was mostly because when I was fifteen, I was obsessed Rapunzel and the idea of having crazy long hair, and spent a lot of my allowance on hair care products whose instructions I followed to the absolute last letter.

I was over that period in my life, thankfully. My credit card wouldn't be able to take it.

Finding my room was a bit harder than I thought it would be, but I eventually found it. Before I went to sleep, I fired off an email to my boss to tell her I'd be back at work on Tuesday. After clicking through, and deleting a few more messages, I rolled onto my side and curled up with my stuffed teddy bear.

 **For those of you aware of it, I have been working on my Hellsing fic and I plan to update by tomorrow. Please review!  
**


	3. Meeting An Idol

**Character/Writer's trivia #1: Juli's nickname for Ame is Mai-chan, which I coined from the Romaji spelling of the Japanese word for 'sweet' (** _ **a**_ _ **mai**_ **) because the name Ame can also mean candy.**

 **Meeting an Idol**

In spite of how tired I was the night before, I still managed to wake myself up at around 6:30 the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. This always happened when I was in a new place; my body got overexcited and I woke up really early feeling stupidly alert and unable to go back to sleep.

 _Ugh,_ I groaned and glared up at my ceiling in the semi darkness of the room. Well, if I was going to be awake, I might as well be productive in some way. I grabbed my phone and flicked through my messages and apps, before settling on my running app. I normally went jogging a bit later in the day, at around 8:30 a.m., but this worked.

I pulled on a white t-shirt over my black and blue sports bra, and a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms. I tied my hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face.

No one was awake yet, but I still tiptoed down the stairs and into the elevator. It was cool outside, but not particularly cold. I'd warm up when I started running. _Okay, if I just go down that stretch of road, then I can't possibly get lost._ I set my phone's music playlist on shuffle, and set off.

After running/jogging/power-walking for about twenty minutes, I stopped to catch my breath and also curse myself for forgetting to bring any water with me, and caught sight of a familiar figure coming up behind me. "Subaru-nii?"

He looked equally surprised to see me as he drew to a stop a foot away. "Ame-chan?"

Like me, he was dressed in university issued white and green tracksuit bottoms, and a plain black t-shirt. Unlike me however, he had actually remembered to bring water with him. "I didn't know you did sports," I tilted my head to the side.

"I play basketball for Meiji," he explained, chugging down the water. My throat whined at the loss of the beautiful, life-giving liquid.

"You go to Meiji?" My eyes widened. "So do I! How have I not seen you around?"

Well, it was probably because we were in different wings – I was studying clinical psychology and linguistics – I had little to no interest in sports whatsoever, and also because I had problems paying enough attention to anything not directly related to me or Ema.

I said none of this though. Instead, I giggled. "I think I heard some girls gushing over you at some point though."

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" He went pink with embarrassment, further heightening my amusement. He watched me giggle for a few seconds, and then asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I like to go jogging in the mornings, though I don't usually go this early," I stretched upwards and twirled around in the direction of the building. "I think it's a leftover from high school, I used to be in the track team back then. I'm heading back now though. You?"

He told me he was going to run a bit more, so I waved him off. I jogged back to the front of the building, albeit at a much slower pace than earlier, and took the elevator back up again. Now it was about 7: 05. By the time I had showered, dressed in my favourite red sweatshirt and black shorts, dried and styled my hair into its usual messy ponytail, it was just a little past 7:40. I didn't know when everyone in the Asahina family usually woke up, but this seemed to be a standard time.

Sure enough, Ukyo was downstairs in the kitchen frying fish. There was a pot of soup simmering on the hob, and rice cooking elsewhere. "Good morning Ukyo-san," I yawned as I walked into the kitchen.

The blonde turned his attention from the fish to me and smiled. "Good morning, Ame-chan. Did you sleep well? This is rather early."

"Yeah, well," I smiled and shrugged sheepishly. "This might not last. When I get to new places, or when something really exciting happens or is _about_ to happen, I tend to wake up _insanely_ early in the mornings." He laughed at that, and I grinned back. I blinked around the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?"

The combed back locks of his hair moved slightly when he shook his head, and I wondered how he managed to look so put together so early in the morning. "No, I've just about finished here. Please help me watch the soup though, so it doesn't boil over."

I perked up and did as I had been asked to. "Sorry if I'm getting in your way or anything."

"Not at all," he turned off the flames underneath the fish, and began placing it onto the plates. "By the way, I don't think you mentioned what you do. Are you a student?"

"Yep, I go to Meiji," I grinned, lowering the flames under the soup. I fetched a ladle from the utensil rack and began ladling soup into the bowls, and setting them on the trays along with the fish. "I was so surprised when Subaru-nii told me he went there too. I'd never seen him before, but then my classes are on the other side of the campus, and I am a part-time student."

Ukyo hummed in understanding. "Part-time? What else do you do?"

"In the evenings, I work as a waitress at _Blue Garden_ ," I replied. _Blue Garden_ was a restaurant in the town with a relaxed feel to it, and good ratings. Regardless of the name, it wasn't fancy by any means, but it was a popular place – especially for college students – and it served really good food. "I was really nervous when I started there, but I'm fine now!"

He patted the top of my head gently with his free hand. "I'm glad to hear that."

While we were serving the fish, Emi's face appeared over the balcony with Juli on her shoulder. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Ema-chan," Ukyo smiled up at her, and I made a two fingered salute. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks to everyone's help," she nodded, and then she noticed the spread of food. "Amazing! Did you make this for everyone?"

I scrunched up my nose and shook my head. "Ha, no. Ukyo-san made all of this himself," I waved at the bowls of miso soup and plates of fish and vegetables. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Cooking is my duty in this household. Ame-chan helped me with the soup," Ukyo said, although I didn't think what I did even counted as help.

She nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ukyo gave her the job of dishing the cooked rice. "There are many who wake up late in the mornings," he studied a complicated whiteboard in the kitchen, made up of coloured magnetic markers placed on different days that I couldn't make heads or tails off. "Please dish five bowls."

Ema answered happily. Just then, Wataru came down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his fist. He stopped in front of her and smiled up at her sleepily. "Good morning sis, good morning big sister."

"Good morning Wataru-chan," we replied, Ema bending so she was closer to eye level with him.

His sleepy smile widened and laughter bubbled up from him. "I'm so happy! I'll be having all my meals with my big sisters from now on!"

"Yep!" I popped the 'p' exaggeratedly, making him laugh again. "Please take care of us!"

There were footsteps, and Wataru's entrance was followed by the arrival of Yusuke and Subaru. Ema straightened up and quickly greeted them. Yusuke paused and stared at her for a couple of seconds, before nodding. "Yeah."

Subaru's response was pretty similar, which was disappointing considering this morning. He didn't even look at her.

 _Well don't you both just have dazzling personalities,_ I thought sarcastically.

However, Ema had suddenly tensed up when she'd greeted him, and she too didn't seem able to look him in the eye. Had something happened with them that I didn't know about?

"How rare to see Yusuke actually showing up for breakfast," Ukyo commented with an amused smile. Yusuke clicked his teeth in annoyance and sat down at one of the places. Juli suddenly ran over to him and began to squeak and hiss at him in anger, surprising him to say the least.

I sighed and grabbed the squirrel by the bow. "Juli, he hasn't done anything. It's too early in the morning for this, okay?"

"I can't believe you think we can rest with these wolves prowling the house!" He snapped, flailing around in my grip. "They're dangerous! One of them even kissed Chii-chan last night!"

"What?" I turned to my sister, and she flushed pink.

"I-It wasn't like that," she insisted quietly. "It was just on the cheek..."

I frowned and returned Juli to her shoulder. "Oh, you mean Kaname-nii? He did the same to me. I guess it's just part of his personality to be that way. That aside," I nudged Ema to one of the chairs. "Eat up. I don't want you getting hungry in class."

Subaru finished eating first, then left for practice, and Ukyo took Wataru to school when he was finished with his own breakfast.

Yusuke and Ema left together. "I wasn't able to make you a bento since all the bowls are in our luggage boxes," I walked with them to the elevator. "So, here, buy yourself something to eat at break," I handed her some money, and then lowered my voice. "Buy something for Yusuke too if he gets hungry. I get the feeling that, if I offered, he wouldn't take it.

Ema nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Ame-chan."

"No problem. Now go, or you'll be late for school!"

Once they were all gone, I set about putting the plates and pots in the sink to be washed. I wiped down the dining table and the kitchen counters. I debated vacuuming, but decided against it since the others were still asleep, and the noise of the vacuum might wake them up.

I turned on the TV to a channel showing morning cartoons, and curled up on the red couch to watch for a while. Footsteps on the stairs alerted me to the arrival of more people about ten minutes later, and I looked up to see Tsubaki and Azusa coming downstairs. They were already properly dressed, and looked like they were about to head out. "Good morning!"

Tsubaki grinned at me. "Good morning, Ame-chan! Do I get a morning hug~?"

"That's enough, Tsuba-nii," Azusa gently karate chopped the top of his head, and Tsubaki pretended to recoil in pain. I covered my mouth to hide my smile. "Did you sleep well, Ame-chan?"

I nodded happily. "I did. Are you going out now?"

They nodded. "We have a meeting this morning with our managers," Azusa explained.

My lips formed an audible 'o' of understanding. "Have a good day."

"Thank you, Ame-chan. See you later~," Tsubaki waved at me as the elevators shut on them, and then it was just me again. I looked down at my watch, and noted that I had a class in half an hour. I switched off the TV and walked to my room to grab my laptop bag and books, and also exchange my shorts for a pair of jeans.

Meiji was a twenty minute walk, and a ten minute train ride from the Sunrise residence. Today I chose to ride the train because I wanted to have enough time to look in on the basketball team training. Sure enough, I spotted Subaru amongst them, though I left before he could spot me.

I loved my psychology class, and the lecturer was great as well. I had thought it would be rather boring, and filled with ramblings about Freud like my former psychology teacher, but I was pleasantly surprised. Tsubaki-sensei was a huge fan of self-study, evenly tempered with his methods of intervention when asked or when he felt it was necessary.

Near the end of the class, he passed out sheets of paper to all of us. "For part of your grade, you will need to carry out research into an area of psychology," he told us. "You can pick the area you want, but the question you are researching must be clear, otherwise your observations and results will be all over the place, and then I'll have to fail you which is something no one wants."

I glanced at my watch when I got out of class. It was about 12:30 now, still kind of early. I stopped at a cafe for some bubble tea, and chose a window seat so that I could stare through the glass while I sipped.

I rolled the assignment around in my head, wondering what I could base mine on. Developmental psychology, maybe? The idea of social learning? There were so many choices, and questions based on those choices. I flipped out my phone and tapped a few ideas down in the notes app, before leaving the shop.

By the time I returned to the residence, it was about quarter past one. The bubble tea had warmed me from the inside out, and now all I wanted to do was lie down on the nearest available comfortable and sleep, so I managed to drag myself up the stairs, to my bedroom, kick off my jeans, and do just that.

The insistent buzzing of my phone woke me up about three hours later. I groaned and reached for it without looking, flicking it open and very nearly blinding myself in the process. It was a message from one of my co-workers. I tapped out a short reply, and then sat up and yawned widely.

 _I knew all that early morning energy wouldn't last,_ I stretched and, after dragging on the shorts I'd worn that morning, I left my room to see if anyone was back yet.

There didn't seem to be anyone else home yet, but then I heard people talking as I made my way downstairs. One of them was Ema, but the other wasn't one I recognised. "Oh! You're Miwa's husband's daughter," the person said. "I thought there were two of you."

"Um, Ame-chan is probably in class right now..."

 _I guess that's one of the brothers I haven't met yet,_ I started walking towards the lounge, but his next words made me freeze. "You're pretty cute as it is, but it doesn't seem like you're very smart."

 _What?_

"Or rather," he decided to elaborate even further. "You're an idiot."

 _He called Ema-chan an idiot. He called Ema-chan an idiot. He called Ema-chan an idiot..._ The thought repeated over and over in my mind, and I started walking again. "Ame-chan!" I heard Ema call, and she sounded relieved to see me.

"Oh? Are you the other sister?" Fuuto – because this _must_ be Fuuto – smirked and arched an eyebrow at me. He looked much more annoying in the flesh. "Are you as much of an idiot as she is? You're not answering; you must be an even bigger idiot than she-!"

I grabbed his wrist in one hand, and quickly twisted it behind his back, forcing his torso against the wall. " _What. Did you just say. About my sister?_ "

"Ame-chan!"

I ignored Ema's gasp. She was so kind and gentle, she didn't deserve assholes like him insulting her and trying to take advantage of her. That was why I existed, to teach them a lesson. That was probably one of the reasons I'd been born, to keep my little sister safe when she entered the world.

Fuuto winced in discomfort, and I glared up at him out of furious eyes. "I'm not letting you go until you apologise."

He scowled, and then he smirked and batted his lashes at me. "I'm sorry, big sister~."

I rolled my eyes at that sham of a display. "Not to _me_ , to Ema-chan."

Fuuto narrowed his eyes, and then sighed and directed his next apology at Ema. "I'm sorry big sister. I promise never to do it again~," he said in an incredibly heartfelt and sarcastic tone. Still, he had said it, so I released him and walked over to Ema.

"You need to speak up more when this happens," I scolded her gently, the anger mostly gone. I brushed her hair out of her face. "How was school?"

Before she could respond, Fuuto spoke up. "Heh, so big sister is the motherly type?" He smirked at us and walked closer, completely ignoring any and all ideas of boundaries and personal space. Yet, I felt it would seem like a sign of weakness if I stepped back even a little, so I maintained my glare and position in front of Ema.

"What?" I asked after a second of just staring.

He flashed a smile that probably didn't bode well for anyone. "Nothing~. I think I'll like having my big sister take _good_ care of me, right Ame-chan?" He walked past us, waving over his shoulders. "See you later, idiot older sisters."

I stared after Fuuto blankly. "I'm going to fight him."

"Ame-chan, please don't," she and I walked to her room where I leaned against the wall while she searched for clothes to change into. "Ame-chan..."

I glanced at her, and then looked away. "No."

Her eyes softened even more, giving her the look of a kicked puppy. "Ame-chan..."

Now I refused to even look at her as I shook my head even more vehemently. "No. No way. You want _me_ to apologize _him_ after what he said to you?! Juli, back me up on this!"

The squirrel nodded and leaped down from Ema's shoulder to her bed. "Mai-chan is right, Chii-chan," he said. "He had no right to call you that!"

Ema frowned and looked at her shoes. "W-Well, he was probably surprised as well. Imagine waking up to find someone strange in your house. I just don't want to cause problems for anyone," she could see that I wasn't impressed at all. "Besides, he's our little brother. What did you do when if I acted that way?"

"You never acted out," I rolled my eyes and ruffled her hair. "You were pretty much the poster child for the perfect little sister." She continued to pout at me until I caved, like I always did. "Oh my _god_. _F_ _ine_ , I'll _apologize_. Just stop looking at me like that!"

She cheered up when I said that, and hugged me. "Thank you, Ame-chan."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I huffed, returning the hug, before flopping face-down on her bed. "I won't mean it though."

Once she'd changed, Ema suggested that we make a head start on dinner for the boys, and even dug out our aprons from her bag (so that's where it was) to wear over our clothes. Hers was pink with white polka dots, and mine was the same except it was blue.

When we got downstairs, Ukyo was in the kitchen already. He had just arrived home, and was in the carrying a bunch of white nylon bags that he had just placed on the counter. "Welcome home," we chorused, and he started in surprise, and then stared at us. "Ukyo-san?"

He blinked, and quickly looked away. "Excuse me for staring, it's just that it's been a while since those words have been spoken to me," he pushed his glasses up and smiled down at the counter. "It's quite nice."

"Aw," I frowned and folded my arms across my chest. "Well I guess Ema-chan and I have to make sure you hear it as often as possible to make up for it." Ema nodded in agreement.

Ukyo chuckled at us. "Thank you, Ame-chan, Ema-chan. Oh, that reminds me, have you two met Fuuto yet?"

My left eye twitched, and Ema laughed nervously. "Ah, yes, just earlier actually."

He blinked, his gaze shifting between us, before settling on me. "What happened?"

"I'm going to fight him," I replied immediately. Ema frowned at me, and I pouted and rolled my eyes. " _Fine_ , I _won't_ fight him for calling you an idiot and making you feel bad, but only because you asked so nicely, and I love and value your opinion."

Ukyo sighed and bent to search for something in the lower cupboards. He straightened, holding a green apron with two cat faces on the front. "I see. Well he probably won't be showing his face tomorrow due to work, so I told him to come for a time if he could."

"Tomorrow?" We perked up at his words. "What's happening tomorrow?"

"Ah, my bad, I haven't told you both yet," he tied the strings of the apron, and began pulling out foodstuffs from the bags to use for dinner. "We were planning on throwing a birthday party for Subaru tomorrow."

Ema clapped her hands together in happiness. "Wow, a birthday party! As I thought, having siblings really is fun!"

"Well, normally we don't go that far," he told us. "But this year is special since Subaru is turning 20."

"If there's anything we can do to help, please tell us," I said, rocking onto my tiptoes and balancing there for a moment.

"Well..." he looked up at the ceiling in thought, and then smiled at us.


	4. Birthday Cake

**Happy (late) Halloween! My boarding house had Horror Movie + Karaoke + Candy Night, and then I watched D+P Spooky Week videos (sweet Christ, that Silent Hill one is going to give me nightmares).**

 ** **What did you guys do? Also,** I own nothing other than Ame**

 **Birthday Cake  
**

Ukyo asked us to be in charge of baking the birthday cake, so the next day after she was done with school, Ema and I went shopping for all the items and ingredients we would need to make the best cake possible.

That, incidentally, turned out to be a _lot._ "Will you be okay, Chii-chan?" Juli asked Ema. She was struggling with the heavy bags.

"I'm alright," she replied, but her breathing grew increasingly more laboured until she had to stop to put the bags down and catch her breath. I crouched down beside her and rubbed at the red lines on her palm. "Thanks. If Subaru-san was here, he would have no problem carrying all of these," she murmured.

I nodded in agreement. "True. With all the sports, and the roadwork he does for his club, he's probably really strong."

" _They noticed?_ "

Ema and I turned around in surprise, but there was no one there. Juli blinked at us. "Chi-chan, Mai-chan, is something wrong?"

"Huh? I just thought I heard something now..." Ema replied, both of us still scanning the streets behind us. I shrugged it off quickly. It was probably a snippet we had accidentally overheard from someone else's conversation. I got back to my feet, and held out my hand to help my sister to her feet.

Ten minutes, and three more pit stops later, we finally reached the building. Two minutes later, we set the bags down in the hallway of the 5th floor and heaved huge, simultaneous sigh of relief. "Finally," I peeled off my flats and placed them neatly by the door. I bent to carry the items to the kitchen, and spotted a legs just resting on the staircase, like someone was lying on the ground.

That person turned out to be Louis. His eyes were closed and, if I hadn't seen the steady rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought he was dead. "Louis-san!" We gathered around him and Ema studied him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I think he's asleep," I frowned. "This is a really terrible place to sleep by the way," I touched his hair gently, and then quickly snatched my hand away when he began to stir.

He sat up and blinked at us, leaning a bit closer than necessary. "Chi-chan...Mai-chan..." _I still don't know how he knows those names! Ema-chan and I don't call each other by those nicknames, only Juli does!_

At any rate, "Are you okay?" I lifted my hand and placed the back of my palm and fingers against his forehead to check for a fever. He didn't feel especially warm. "Is anything wrong?"

He hummed quietly, and blinked slowly. "I'm fine...Mai-chan...I was planning...to sleep on the sofa...but I didn't make it..."

I glanced at the sofa that was only about five feet away, and then back at him. _How tired were you!?_ I wondered, removing my hand from his head. "Have you finished your work?" Ame asked.

"No," he replied, his eyes drifting to watch me retract my hand with an almost wistful expression. "If you...both don't mind...may I arrange...your hair?" We both made confused expressions at the sudden change of subject. "Today is...Subaru-kun's birthday...Since there's a party...I want to make you both...even cuter..."

 _Aw!_ "Really? Thank you!" I accepted before Ema could try to decline politely, because sometimes it's best to just accept when people offer to do things for you. I suddenly remembered the groceries we'd abandoned in the doorway. "Oh, but Ema-chan can go first while I put away all the things we bought. Is that okay?"

Louis smiled at me, and then at Ema. "Of course...Mai-chan...Ema-chan, may I...?"

The two of them relocated to the main area, while I tried to carry as many bags as I could all at once to the kitchen in one go. I had to stop though, because one of the bags had eggs in it, and I did not want to be responsible for any messes and losses that would occur due to breakage.

The flour went into the cupboard, as did the other dry ingredients and food cans, then the perishables went into the fridge unit. Once I was more or less done, I bounced out of the kitchen to watch Louis work.

He was incredibly skilled, and – after removing the ribbon that kept her hair up – deftly twisted and braided Ema's hair into a sweet yet wonderfully simple style. Her hair was loose, but he had taken a few strands on one side of her head, and French braided them midway down the side, pinning it in place with her pink butterfly clip.

He took strands from the other side, and the bit of the other that weren't braided, and tied them together at the back of her head to keep the rest of her hair out of her face. "It's finished," Louis fluffed up the ends with his fingers and fetched a mirror so that Ema could have a look at herself. "Is this good?"

Ema looked surprised to see herself, and then she smiled and nodded happily. " Yes, very!"

"Aw, Ema you look great!" I voiced my own approval with a grin.

"That's good," Louis looked pleased with our praise. He set down the mirror and picked up a curling iron. "I'll put on the finishing touches." However, when he pressed the button to switch on the iron, nothing happened. "Sorry...Chii-chan, I'll go get another one."

I rolled my eyes when Ema tried to dissuade him and he looked like a hurt puppy. "Well, he is a pro, so he probably wants to do a perfect job," Juli said.

"Restraining myself sometimes may not be a good thing after all..." she said thoughtfully.

I opened my mouth to reply when the sound of someone running reached us, and someone appeared at the top of the balcony. It was Fuuto, not really the person I wanted to see, but I did say I would apologise even if I didn't mean it, and that meant I had to at least _try_ to remain calm.

He glared at us from his place, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Hey, where's Louis-nii?"

"He went to get something," I replied casually, resting an elbow on the back of Ema's chair. "He'll be back soon."

The boy groaned. "What's up with this? When I asked at the store, they said he was at home!"

"Are you in a hurry?"

Fuuto directed his glare at my sister, and I felt my hackles rising. "Why would I tell outsiders like you?" My sister flinched at the harsh words, and I straightened up and took an involuntary step forward. Fuuto's eyes suddenly widened, and he leaned forward as if trying to get a better look at Ema. "You changed your hairstyle, right? Sorry, I didn't notice until now, that sis was such a beautiful person..."

 _Where is this going? I don't like where this is going!_ And Ema needed to stop blushing, why was she blushing?!

Fuuto's eyes softened. "Sis..." _I_ _ **really**_ _don't like where this is going!_ "Can you forget, for the moment, that you and I are siblings?"

 _THERE IT IS!_ "No!" I yelled in a scandalized tone.

At my outburst, he smirked widely. "Just kidding~" _I am going to fight you._ "You actually thought I was being serious?" He laughed scornfully. "I can't believe it! You aren't suddenly a princess just because you changed your hairstyle!"

I stared up at him wonderingly, while he laughed and congratulated himself, speaking more to myself than anyone else. "I'm going to fight him."

Ema gazed up at me pleadingly. "Ame-chan, please don't."

"Then don't look so sad!" I hissed quietly back, pinching her cheeks. "If he keeps upsetting you, I will do it!"

Fuuto's phone rang in the middle of his gloating, and the conversation seemed to be about him disliking all of the hairstylists that the studio had provided for him. "Ah, I'm so unlucky that Louis-nii isn't here," he said once he slid his phone back into his pocket. He walked away, waving over his shoulder. "See you later, my _p-re-tt-y_ big sister!"

Louis arrived about ten minutes after Fuuto had left, and quickly finished up Ema's hair. He started on me right after, loosening the messy braid I had my hair in, redid it again but much neater this time. He then twisted the braid around itself to form a large braided bun with a blue butterfly pin to hold it in place. For the finishing touch, he brushed out a few tendrils to frame my face, and curled them gently.

I squealed quietly when he showed it to me. "Thank you so much! This looks amazing!"

"You're welcome...Mai-chan...you can both come to me...whenever you want to...okay?"

Ema and I smiled, and I nodded excitedly. "Definitely!"

* * *

oOo

* * *

After that, there came the cake, which took longer than expected because we had to check out the recipes, and then we deliberated over what kind of cake we should even _bake_ (Ame said strawberry, and I wanted chocolate, but that was just me being selfish). I then proceeded to eat about half a pack of strawberries before Ema stopped me, but luckily I had foreseen my own gluttony and bought an extra pack.

My mouth was now stained pink from all the fruit, but I chose to see it as all-natural lip tint.

It was rather late before the cake was finished, about 8:45 p.m., but it looked fantastic if I did say so myself. I did the icing and fondant, and then Ema did the fruit arrangement and decorations. I couldn't help feeling proud when the brothers began to arrive and compliment the cake. Wataru hopped over to the counter to get a close look at it. "Wow! The cake is huge!"

"It looks delicious!" Tsubaki grinned.

Kaname smiled at us. "This is great, little sisters."

"A magnificent creation," Ukyo decided.

"It almost seems a waste to eat it," Iori said with a smile.

 _Aw, shucks, stop it!_ "Thank you very much," we replied together; Ema's coming out with a shy smile, while I beamed happily.

Wataru bounced up and down in excitement. "Amazing!" His unrestrained and enthusiastic appreciation for our baking skills made me incredibly happy. "It really, really is amazing!"

Masaomi crouched and bent so he was eye level with the youngest boy. "Wataru," he smiled gently. "This cake is something your older sisters made for Subaru. Wataru shouldn't be happier than Subaru, okay?"

The boy deflated somewhat, and went over to apologize to Subaru. The older brother smiled and patted him on the head. Ema smiled as she watched the display. "Siblings are nice..."

"Yeah," I hummed. Subaru caught us watching him, and quickly looked away as a blush covered his cheeks. I giggled and nudged Ema, but she was blushing now too, and once again she wasn't looking at Subaru. _What the heck happened to you two?_

Yuusuke gazed at the cake in awe. "This...you made all of this by yourselves, right?"

"That's right," Ema replied.

"For Suba-nii," he gazed at the cake. "You..."

I glanced between them, biting back an oncoming smile. He may have addressed the question to both of us, but it was pretty obvious whose answer he cared more about.

It was awkward and adorable all at one. "I...can't eat this."

Ame blinked in surprise, and then leaned forward. "Why? Do you dislike cake?"

"No, that's not it!" He replied quickly. "You made it, and I would feel bad for not eating it, and I want to eat it, but somehow...I can't eat this."

 _Adorable. And. Awkward. Bless him,_ a giggle escaped before I could choke them back quickly enough, and I immediately clapped a hand over my mouth and tried not to meet the amused eyes of anyone present.

Tsubaki sauntered over to lean against Yuusuke's shoulder. "Ah, I see! Well if Yuusuke can't eat it, then I'll have your part of it as well!" He casually pushed Yuusuke out of the way and leaned closer to Ema and me. "After all, it's a cake with all your affection in it! I feel like I can eat the whole thing!"

"H-Hey, Tsuba-nii!"

He smirked at us. "Ah, I would be _extremely_ happy if you fed me! Do it, do it!" Ema stammered over her reply, and his eyelids lowered just a bit. "Or do you prefer the one being fed? I'm fine with that as well!" He picked two strawberries out of the bowl and held them up to our mouths. I went vaguely cross-eyed while trying to focus on both it, and his face. "Here, say _ah~_ "

"Alright, let's leave it there, Tsubaki." Luckily Azusa came to the rescue before Ema exploded with nervousness, but not before Juli leaped out and attached himself to Tsubaki's shirt by his teeth. In lieu of the one I hadn't gotten to eat, I grabbed another strawberry from the bowl and popped it into my mouth.

"Okay!" Tsubaki replied cheerily, then he turned to look at Subaru. "But it seems like the person it's made for isn't too happy."

Subaru jerked at the statement, and blushed even more when all eyes went to him. "No, that's not..."

"Subaru-kun?" Ema's sounded concerned, as was I.

Kaname moved to stand between Ema and I. "Don't worry, it's not an illness. Wait, maybe it is," he smiled at Ema and me, startling us both with his sudden closeness. "One even a doctor cannot cure. Well, I have the same sickness as well," he reached out and wrapped his arms around our shoulders, drawing us both really close. "If I could, I would prefer to suffer this illness."

 _Smooth lines,_ I stared at the hand on my shoulder, and then suddenly it was gone. "You're bothering them, big brother Kaname," Iori said, holding Kaname's hand by his wrist.

They both stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Kaname conceded with a small smile. The arms around Ema and I dropped from our shoulders. "Sorry about that, little sisters," he stepped back.

 _What was that?_ "Can I ask you both something?" Iori gazed at us. "Why did you change your hairstyles today?"

"Ah, Louis-san did this for us," Ema explained, reaching up to touch her hair as though she'd forgotten the style. "He said it was for the party."

Iori's eyes widened in understanding. "So it's like that..." he then smiled. "They really suit you."

"Thank you very much!"

* * *

oOo

* * *

We all gathered in the dining room around the table. Ema and I brought in the cake – now with 20 lit candles – plates, and cutlery, before taking our seats on either side of Kaname. The lights were off, so the candles illuminated the table and the cake. "Let's have Subaru blow out the candles then," Ukyo said.

Subaru stared round at all of us. "Are we seriously doing this?"

"Yes," Ukyo replied, his tone firm but no less relaxed. Subaru sighed, and stared down at the candles flickering on the cake.

Ema pulled out her camera happily. "I'll take a picture!"

"Remember to make a wish before you blow!" I called out.

Subaru huffed, then took a deep breath and blew out every candle in one go. I cheered and clapped along with everyone else, while Masaomi turned the lights back on. I cut and distributed the cake slices, making sure to give Subaru the biggest piece of all because that was his right as the birthday boy.

Wataru's enthusiasm came back with his first taste of the cake. "So yummy~! My big sister's cake is the best in the whole world!"

"The best!" Tsubaki hummed in enjoyment, and then grinned at Yuusuke who was sitting beside him. "Hey Yuusuke, if you aren't eating it, I really will eat yours!"

The redhead had yet to take a single bite of his own slice, but Tsubaki's threat was apparently enough to set him in motion. "I'll eat it!" He cut a piece with his fork and took a bite. Chewed, swallowed... "Tastes good!"

There was laughter at his outburst, and I couldn't help the warm, bubbly feeling that rose up inside me. When was the last time we had ever been surrounded by so many people that I could call family? When was the last time Ema and I had been surrounded by so much laughter?

Ema snapped pictures of everything and everyone with her camera, while I settled on video-recording the events with my phone, and taking pictures of the cake and the brothers enjoying the cake. Honestly, I hate starring in pictures – as well as anything that involved starring or performing, I'd honestly rather break my own leg than perform as I was – but I didn't quite mind it so much now.

I don't know, something about this atmosphere made me feel light and happy.

Ema lifted her camera to take a picture of Wataru catching me by surprise and feeding me a piece of cake, except I had been giggling at something else, so when I turned around my face was off balance and I got a little bit of icing on my nose.

This, of course, only made me laugh harder. "I'm sorry, big sister!" Wataru apologised over and over.

I wiped away the icing and grinned. "It's okay! Do you want to take a picture with me?"

He beamed in excitement and hopped onto my lap, wriggling until he could press his cheek against my own. Ukyo was beside us, so it seemed only natural to rope him into joining the picture. By that, I mean I simply wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him closer so he'd show up in the image. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" _Click._ Ema came over to show us the picture, which came out looking pretty good. Ukyo looked totally unprepared though. "Kyo-nii's face is all red!" Wataru piped up, which only made the blonde flush even more.

"Aw, I want to be in a picture with Ame-chan~!" Tsubaki draped himself on my back and grinned, while Azusa sat very close to me. "Let's take a picture together!"

I twisted my neck to stare at each of them, and then grinned and poked Azusa in the nose, making him go cross-eyed in total surprise while Tsubaki spluttered with laughter over the unexpected move. That was when Ema snapped the photo, and I laughed at his completely bemused expression.

After a while, I pulled out my smartphone and motioned to Ema to come stand beside me. "You need to be in at least _one_ picture," I told her as I turned on my camera. "If I'm going to do this, then so are you!"

In the end, we took a _lot_ of pictures, the vast majority of which were on Ema's camera, but I had a few decent ones myself.

An hour later, after the party had dispersed, and Ema and I had finished cleaning and washing up the trays and cutlery, I was lying in Ema's bed and going through the pictures I had on my phone while she went through hers.

I chose one and uploaded it to my social media account. "Tonight was so much fun, huh?"

"Mhm," Ema smiled at the pictures. "Having family is so great..."

Juli looked mildly annoyed for a tiny squirrel. "This house is sometimes too noisy," he complained.

I rolled over onto my side and propped myself up by my elbow. "But that's what makes it fun! Doing something like this with family, celebrating birthdays with an actual party..."

For most of our birthdays, papa was oversees working on one thing or another. I knew he loved us and everything, and he did sent presents and postcards, but it would have been nice to have a birthday party at least once while I was still a kid.

Ema set down the camera and felt around her bed. "Huh? Where's my phone...?"

"Maybe you left it in the living room?" Juli suggested.

"Let's go look," I sat up and stretched. "If anyone is still up (and someone always was) then maybe they've seen it."

We stepped out of the room and made our way to the living room. However we heard voices coming from there, and paused just for a moment. "Then, what do you think of them?" That was Tsubaki. "So you can't say anything? See, you are interested after all! Which one do you like? I'm rather partial to-!"

"I'm saying that's not it!" Subaru, and he sounded angry. _Oh dear, this is a bad time._

"Then how is it different?" Tsubaki asked, taunting him.

Subaru stammered for a second, and then growled. "To make it clear, it's annoying!"

 _...what?_

"It's always just been us guys, but then suddenly girls _come_ into the picture." I didn't have to look at Ema to know how stricken she was by his words. "Since they came, I have to be careful when I'm using the bathroom, and I can't even take off my top while I'm training!"

 _Deep breaths Ame, deep breaths,_ I turned to my sister and took her hand. "Ema, it's..." I didn't know what to say to comfort her. I knew she wouldn't cry, because like me she had learned to internalize the pain and tears, and bottle them up somewhere where they wouldn't show.

It's the one thing I wish she hadn't learned from me.

Footsteps grew louder as they came closer, and then Subaru appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked stunned to see us, knew that we had heard everything he'd said. Ema started when she saw him, and ran back to her room. I stared after her silently, and then I turned to glare at him coldly.

"So..." I drew out the vowel. "We're annoyances now, huh?"

He flinched. "I didn't mean-"

"You didn't _mean_ it?" I snapped, raising my voice a bit. "How _dare_ you make my little sister cry? How _dare_ you say all those things, and then turn around and tell me _you didn't mean it?!_ " I turned and ran until I reached Ema's room. She let me in, and I immediately wrapped my arms around her.

She buried her face in my shoulder. "I heard you shouting..."

I snorted sharply, still angry enough to punch a wall. "Yeah well, you know me and my anger management issues..."

She laughed shakily into my shoulder. "I don't think you have issues..."

"And I don't think you're annoying," I pulled back and patted her on the head. "I think you're my cute baby sister and I will fight anyone who tries to hurt you in any way. Speaking of which..." The bell for her room rang, and we both turned to stare at the door, and then at each other.

Ema got up and opened the door slowly while I stood back. "Sorry about earlier," Subaru apologised, his gaze flickering from me to Ema. He was blushing, and he looked honestly sorry. I let my glare ease up a bit. "Please forget about it! It was...just something I said without thinking."

"I-It's okay," Ema said in reply. "I was just a bit surprised." She still sounded like she wanted to cry, so it was clearly not okay. Ema raised her head, and I knew she was forcing a smile. "I'm really fine."

Seeing how much he had hurt her, Subaru's expression changed to complete regret. "Sorry, I really am sorry!" He bowed, but suddenly stumbled on something and pitched forward into the room and onto my sister.

I freaked, as one does in such a situation. " _Get off my sister!_ "

Subaru raised his head up groggily, and let it fall again, and I noticed that the pink flush on his face wasn't just from embarrassment: he was drunk. Flat out, stumbling drunk, and now he was on my sister, and now I had to defend her honour.

So I grabbed him by the back of his collar, and hefted his upper body off hers. I wasn't strong enough to lift him completely – especially when he was pretty much dead weight by this time – but I shifted him so that his torso wasn't pressed against her own.

Ema's face was bright red when I saw it, and her lips were parted and _oh my god please no._ "Hey! What are you doing?" Tsubaki and Azusa appeared in the doorway and I dropped him so that they could drag him from the room. "He's unconscious already?"

"He drank too much," Azusa noted.

Tsubaki shook his head. "Ah, what a guy..." Then they both turned to face us. "Listen, forget about what Subaru said before."

"Everyone here thinks you both are important siblings," Azusa told us.

"It's because I kept teasing him that he said those words," Tsubaki explained. "He doesn't really think like that."

I could accept that in conjunction with his earlier apology, but I was still going to do something about the whole falling on Ema and potentially kissing her deal. "It was an accident!" Ema tried to explain.

"An accident huh?" Tsubaki repeated, and then he smirked evilly. "Well even if it was an accident, I'll be troubled if you think that we'll let him off with nothing."

 _A man after my own heart._ I grinned up at him, and he winked back. Ema and I watched them drag Subaru's unconscious body away. I waved her goodnight, and disappeared into my room to sleep. My work break was up, and tomorrow I had both afternoon classes, and the evening shift almost immediately after.

In a few minutes, I was fast asleep.


	5. At Work

**I own nothing except Ame!**

 **At Work**

Ema and I woke up at the same time the next morning, although she was bathed and dressed while I was happy to walk around the place in my pyjamas since I didn't have to go anywhere until late afternoon. I rubbed my eyes with my shirt-covered hands as I made my way downstairs, just behind her.

"Good morning!" Tsubaki greeted from the sofa. Azusa was beside him tapping at his phone, although he looked up and smiled when he noticed our presence.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Ema's soft pink mobile phone. "Sorry about yesterday," he apologised, handing it back to her. "You forgot your cellphone, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you!" Ema smiled with relief, taking it and holding it to her chest.

I stretched lazily, arms above my head. "Good morni – why is there an unconscious person behind the sofa?" I lowered my arms and stared at the half-revealed figure just behind the other sofa. "Is that...Subaru-nii?"

The twins followed my gaze, and Tsubaki grinned. "Oh, I took revenge for you, so you can rest easy about that!" Ema gaped in surprise, and he smirked. "It might have been a bit severe, but you reap what you sow, right?"

I covered my mouth to hide my grin. "What did you do to him?"

Tsubaki winked and placed a finger over his lips. "It might be better if you don't look."

"I agree," Azusa nodded. Oh, now I was just curious, and I puffed out my cheeks as I pouted, which just made both of them laugh.

"Good morning," Ukyo came around the corner. He was wearing the cute green apron with the cats motifs that he normally wore, and was carrying a basket of damp bedclothes and covers, fresh from the washing machine. He asked us to hang them all up, and we were only too happy to help.

It was a cool, but sunny morning, so being on the roof felt really nice. The gentle wind and sunlight meant that the fabrics would dry quickly. "I'm so happy he asked us to do some housework," Ema smiled happily. "It makes me feel like I'm a member of the family."

"Ukyo-nii is so nice," I reached up to pin one of the sheets in place. "They're really nice people. Well," I amended with a shrug. "With some exceptions."

Juli folded his arms across his furry chest. "Mai-chan is right. That may be, but that ninth son Subaru is unacceptable!" He leaped up at the proclamation, fur almost standing on end in his fury.

"Yes, yes," Ema giggled. "Thank you both for worrying about me. Still, I hope Subaru-san accepts me as a member of the family one day."

I rolled my eyes and squeezed her cheeks between my palms. "You're so cute, Ema-chan~!" I sang, making her yelp and puff her cheeks out in response to my teasing. "As long as none of them ever try anything like that ever again, I'll be fine," I grabbed another sheet to hang up. "If they do, I'll just punch them. Really, really hard."

"Ame-chan..." I blinked at her innocently, and she sighed. "By the way, have you apologised to Fuuto yet?"

"...who?" At her pointed stare, I sighed and looked away. "No...but I will, eventually..." Darn my inability to say no to Ema.

My sister left for school half an hour later, with Yusuke on her heels. His hopeless crush on her was kind of funny, but only because I knew he was virtually harmless in spite of this hot temper and wouldn't hurt her. Now, if the person in question was someone like Fuuto...

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when I heard said idol strolled in early that afternoon. He was on the phone talking to someone, and I was in the kitchen making a snack. I had bathed, and everyone else had gone out to work or school, with the exception of Kaname, but he was asleep since his job required him to work at night and basically be nocturnal.

On that note, I had to figure out exactly what he did. All I knew was that it required him to be seductive and 'entertain' women. So far, my ideas were a bit less than savoury.

Anyway, back to Fuuto.

I felt bad for whoever he was talking to considering his tone, but couldn't help hoping he'd be too into the conversation to talk to or even notice me. Unfortunately he ended the conversation just a few seconds before coming down the stairs and spotting me. "Oh, if it isn't my big sister."

"Hi Fuuto-kun," I sighed as I whisked the separated egg whites. A bowl of crushed kaki peanuts sat beside the bowl of yellow egg yolks, and beside those was a batch of already fried fish on a tray. "No one's home by the way, unless you're here to see Kaname-nii."

He came around the lowered wall separating the main room from the kitchen and leaned against the entrance. "You're so cold, big sister~" he smirked as he watched me coat the fish fillets first in the egg whites, and then roll them in the crushed nuts. "Especially after what you did to me. I'm an idol, you know. You shouldn't treat me so roughly~."

I scowled and turned to glare at him. "Then don't touch my little sister," I snapped, tossing the breaded fish into the pan. There were loud crackles and pops as the fish began to fry in the already hot oil, and I wondered if I should have worn longer sleeves.

"You're so motherly. It's cute." A weight landed across my shoulders, and I noticeably tensed when Fuuto peered over my shoulders at the contents of the pan. "What're you making?" He asked, a hint of genuine curiousity mixed in with his usual conceited tone. Compared to the rest of his brothers, Fuuto was actually quite short, being pretty much a centimetre taller than Ema.

I sighed, shoving down my annoyance. "Char okaki-age," I replied. "It's something I saw in an anime I watched."

He hummed thoughtfully, and I wasn't watching him to catch his expression. Turning my head at that moment would have put his face uncomfortable close to my own, but that also meant I couldn't tell what he was thinking when I removed the cooked fish from the pan and he said, "I want some."

"What?" I did turn my head then, eyes wide in surprise.

"I want some," he repeated. "And I want big sister to feed it to me."

" _What?!_ " He opened his mouth expectantly. I stared at him blankly, no longer as annoyed as I should have been. In fact, I suddenly felt amused. He reminded me of a baby bird. "You know what? Fine," I picked up a piece and held it up so he could take a bite of it.

Fuuto chewed slowly. "Not bad," he mumbled. Alright, why did this suddenly strike me as vaguely adorable? I covered my mouth to hide my giggle. "What's so funny?"

"I don't know," I replied, still grinning behind my fingers. "You're acting so spoiled that it's looped back around and become kind of adorable instead!"

He frowned, and I noticed a piece of the breading on the corner of his mouth. "Oi, don't treat me like a kid-!"

I happened to glance up at the clock and notice the time. "I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR CLASS!" I interrupted him. The sudden yelp caused him to release me, and I quickly switched off the stove and emptied the bowl of already made fish into my food pack. "You can have the ones in the pan since they're still hot!" I called over my shoulder as I hurried to clean up the bowls and utensils I'd used, before rushing up the stairs to change and grab my things. "Save some for Kaname-nii! He missed breakfast! Bye!"

* * *

oOo

* * *

I managed to not be late for school, thank goodness. The moment I walked into class the following day, I was immediately set upon by my classmates – mainly the girls – who wanted to know who the sexy, gorgeous, and incredibly beautiful (their words, not mine) guys in my photo were. Was I dating one of them? Which one? Could I hook one of them up with someone?

"It's not fair to keep them all to yourself!" One of the girls whined.

I placed a hand on my chest. "I just spent the past few days moving into a strange house, and none of you want to ask how I am? I'm so offended right now."

One of the girls, not quite a friend but not a stranger either, snorted. "Well you're clearly not doing too badly if the picture you posted up has anything to say about that."

"So very offended," I laughed. After classes – I was still stumped for a research topic – I headed for the cafe to buy some more bubble tea, and also two packs of miniature cupcakes. There were about six in all: two chocolate, two vanilla, and two marble, all with icing and sprinkles.

I had promised to apologise to Fuuto, but I considered the events of the morning sufficient enough to show that there were no hard feelings between us. Therefore, these cupcakes were just for me to share with whoever happened to be home at the time.

I got the same reaction that I'd gotten at school at work. You'd think fully grown adult women would be far more serious about their work, and far less interested in the affairs of an 18 year old girl, but nope.

"Ah, so they're your brothers?" One of my fellow waitresses, Yomi, sighed to herself as we changed in the locker room for our shift. "Pity..."

"Stepbrothers though," another waitress, Sora, waggled her eyebrows at me lecherously. "There's no blood between the two of you, right? It's all fair game!"

"My god Sora, you sound like such a pervert," I groaned, tying the strings of the frilly white apron in a neat knot at the base of my spine. The uniform was simple: a short black dress with a flared skirt, a white apron, and black shoes. Tights were optional, but some of the patrons were somewhat mischievous so that was an option I chose to take. "I literally just met them like two days ago."

"The place was nuts with you gone," Yomi smiled as we stowed our clothes in our lockers and walked out of the changing room. "So, what are they like? I can't believe you're living with _thirteen_ boys. Isn't that dangerous?"

I waved a hand, brushing away her fears. "We're fine. They're all actually really nice!" With the exception of Fuuto, but I had promised to apologise and I would get to that. Eventually. "Besides, I'll take care of Ema and make sure none of them hurt her."

"Sometimes you talk as if you don't exist," Yomi said to me. "Who's going to take care of you though?"

Before I could answer, our boss appeared and snapped at us to get to work. I could take care of myself though, was what I would have said though. Ema was my younger sister, so it was my responsibility to make sure she was safe at all times.

About halfway through my shift, the bell above the door rang as a new person stepped inside, and I looked up from where I was cleaning one of the tables with a practiced smile, the restaurant's memorised greeting on the tip of my tongue. Then I grinned happily at the familiar figure walking through the door. "Ukyo-nii!"

"Good evening, Ame-chan," he smiled at me in that characteristically bashful manner of his. I abandoned the table and skipped over to him. I was nearing the end of my shift, so I didn't expect to get into too much trouble for slacking off.

I hadn't expected to see him, or anyone for that matter. He was dressed in his typical business suit, the jacket hanging off his arm. There was a briefcase in his other hand. "Did you just get off from work?" I tilted my head to the side curiously. Wasn't this rather late? Of course, I didn't know anything about his work hours.

"I had to stay a little later than expected," he explained. "On my way home I passed by here, and you mentioned that this was where you worked..." he was blushing now. "I saw you through the window..." he tailed off here. The blush was in full bloom now, and he'd dropped his eyes.

I couldn't stop the grin on my face. I lifted my hand to hide my giggles, and he blushed even more. "Thank you. I'm glad you stopped by!"

The red receded a bit, and then he blinked at something behind me. "Are those your co-workers?" I turned and spotted several girls, Sora and Yomi amongst them, peering out from the curtain separating the main area from the kitchen. Two had their phones out, and seemed to be looking from the screens, to us, then back again. Rinse and repeat.

I grinned. "Yes," I waved at them sweetly, and they immediately disappeared behind the curtains once they realised that they had been spotted. "They're curious about you, since I told them about the moving and everything. I also posted a picture of Subaru-nii's birthday online," I paused and gazed up at him worriedly. "I hope that was okay?" Some people didn't like having their pictures taken and put online without permission.

The blonde shook his head and assured me that it was fine. "When does your shift end?" In about fifteen minutes, I told him. "When you're done, would you like me to give you a ride back home?"

"Yes please!" I beamed and threw my arms around his waist in an impulsive hug.

My manager yelled at me from the kitchen. "If you have enough time to hug your boyfriend, then you have enough time to clean the tables!"

I released Ukyo and spun around to call back. "Okay!" I glanced back at my stepbrother and began walking backwards to the kitchen. "Wait for me, okay?" I barely noticed how red his face had become.

The second I reached the kitchen, I was accosted once again. "You didn't mention that he was so good-looking! Do they all look like that?!" Sora hissed at me. She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me in time with her words. "You. Lucky. Girl!"

"Ow?" I blinked several times to clear the colour spots from my retinas, and arched. I quickly finished up my shift and changed. Ukyo was still standing by the door, apparently not noticing the appreciative stares being tossed at him by other patrons. I dashed over, my ponytail messy and loose, and bounced on the tips of my toes. "Ready!"

The ride home was spent with me talking about my day, and asking Ukyo about his own. Ukyo was a somewhat reserved person, I had noticed, but I liked the way he looked when he smiled. I managed to draw him out a bit with my questions and comments. I was curious about his job. I thought it was cool that he got to do something so prestigious and classy, and also help people.

When we arrived home, it was around quarter to seven, and Juli was up in the tree for some reason. He looked like he was sulking about something. "We're home!" I chirped as we walked into the house, arms above my head as I stretched. I was immediately tackled by Wataru.

"Big sister's home!" He sang, face half buried in my stomach.

"Eh, you and Kyo-nii came back at the same time," Tsubaki noted, grinning. "Did he give you a ride home?"

I nodded, still patting Wataru on the head. "Yep! He actually came by the restaurant where I work at the end of my shift!"

"Oh?" I hardly noticed the insinuating tone of Tsubaki's voice. "I didn't know he could be so forward about it~."

"Nothing happened!"

"Eh? So you were all alone with my precious little sister and nothing happened?" Tsubaki wrapped his arms around me like he was trying to protect me from Ukyo. "Don't worry Ame-chan, I'll keep you safe~."

"I have no idea what's going on," I mumbled from where my cheek was smushed into his chest. "But I brought home cupcakes. Who wants some?"


	6. Lunchboxes

**I own nothing other than Ame and her emotions!**

 **Lunchboxes**

Ema hadn't been downstairs when I'd come home, which was strange but it could also just mean she was sleeping or busy, or playing a videogame with her headphones in. I burst into her room dramatically, scaring her in the process. "I'm home! And I saved you a cupcake!" I waved the pink bag at her temptingly.

" _Ame-chan_ ," she whined playfully and sat up on her bed. I grinned and tossed the bag at her, before walking over and faceplanting into her lap. I heard the crinkly sounds of the wrap being removed, and grinned into her lap. "You even got my favourite flavour!"

I shrugged as best I could in my horizontal position, and turned my head to face her stomach. "Yeah, well, anything for my little sister, right? Just don't spill crumbs on me when you eat! I am right here!"

She giggled, and we lapsed into comfortable silence. "So, how was your day?" She asked me.

I shrugged again. "Eh you know, the usual. My co-workers were really curious about all our new brothers, and Ukyo-nii did swing by to see me, but other than that it was fine," I sighed and closed my eyes. "I still have no idea what to do for my school project though." I did have to write a few essays and plans first before beginning the actual project, but as long as I didn't have a topic, I couldn't start anything.

"I'm sorry," she sympathised gently. "Why don't you do something on schools?" Ema suggested after a moment of silence. "You always said you wanted to be a teacher."

I sat bolt upright and stared at her with wide eyes. "You're a genius," I breathed, hugging her and realising a moment too late that she was holding a cupcake that would shake crumbs all over us. I ignored that and brushed them off absentmindedly. "So how was your day, Ema-chan?"

Quiet but insistent taps at our window interrupted us and made us look over, and I saw Juli standing impatiently behind the glass. The second I flipped the catch, he bounded in already talking. "I hope you realise what kind of danger you put yourself in!" He snapped like an upset mother.

Ema frowned. "I wasn't in any danger..."

"Of course you were!" Juli interrupted, standing up on his hind legs and folding his arms across his chest. His fur was on end, and he looked agitated. "Letting him in like that, do you have any idea what could have happened if Yusuke hadn't stopped him?"

My gaze swung between the two of them, understandably confused. "Uh...what happened?"

"Nothing really..."

"Nothing?! That creepy pop idol got into Ema's room and tried to attack her!"

 _What? Fuuto...he did_ _ **what?**_

Ema was speaking now, trying to soothe me. "He didn't really! We just watched movies together! Nothing happened!"

"Yeah..." I nodded slowly. "Sure. Okay. Nothing happened," I turned towards the door. "Excuse me, I need to go...do a thing."

I found Fuuto – I say I, but I was being followed by Ema and Juli – in the upstairs hallway, where he was leaning against the railing and frowning at his phone screen. He looked up when he heard me, but I barely gave him a chance to move as I grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him forward.

"What the-!?" I ignored him, and Ema, and dragged him towards my room. I unlocked the door, shoved it open, and threw him inside, then slammed the door shut before Ema could get in. He scowled at me through the darkness from the centre of my room. "Hey, what gives?" He snapped, and then he smirked tauntingly. "Nee-chan, I didn't know you were into this kind of play~."

"Listen, and listen _well_ ," I flicked the lights on and marched towards him. This wasn't my space yet, but my things were there. I had finished pasting my posters on the walls, and soon I'd make this place truly mine. Until then, this was _my_ territory, and I felt far more in control in here.

I stopped directly in front of him, and poked him hard in the chest. "I told you something morning, didn't I?" I asked. "Yeah, I did. I told you, very distinctly, to _leave. My baby sister._ _ **Alone**_ _._ " A poke accompanied each point, and he stepped back to escape. I followed. "I love Ema dearly, so you'd better listen and heed my words: _stay away from her. Are we clear?_ "

His eyes were wide in shock and, oddly enough, awe. Even stranger, he looked less chastised and more...what? His pupils were dilated, we were close enough in height and position for me to tell. His lips were parted. The expression was unnerving enough that I decided to step back.

Because, if I hadn't know any better, I'd have said he was...turned on. "Nee-chan..."

 _Okay, nope._ "Okay, I'm glad we had this talk!" I rushed ahead and quickly opened the door. Ema stumbled backwards, face pink either from being caught eavesdropping, or from everything she'd overheard. I rolled my eyes at her, and waved a hand at Fuuto. "Let's never do this again. Out, now. And apologise to Ema before you leave."

Fuuto blinked, and walked over to us. He stared at Ema. "Sorry, Ema-chan," he said, in the same insincere manner he had before. Then he turned to me and leaned over so he could speak right into my ear. "I think I like it when you boss me around, big sister~," he said in a breathy tone. "Let's do this again when i get back~" And then he sauntered off down the hall without a glance back. I stared after him in shock, and then turned to Ema. She was glaring at me in that pouty and ultimately ineffectual way she had.

I reached up and patted her cheeks consolingly. "Wanna play videogames until we fall asleep?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

That was a bad peace offering suggestion on my part, as both of us conveniently forgot that Ema had school the next day. I remembered sometime around 1 a.m., after our third virtual raid on some unsuspecting schmucks, and herded her into bed where I promptly proceeded to pass out beside her.

Her alarm clock woke me up the following morning, and I had groaned and grumbled all through my morning routine. By the time I had showered and dressed I was firmly awake, and skipping down the staircase. I could smell breakfast cooking, which meant that Ukyo-nii was awake. "Good morning!" I chirped as I skipped into the kitchen.

He turned to smile at me softly. Most of his smiles were like that, and I liked that. "Good morning Ame-chan. Did you sleep well?"

"Yep!" I came to join him in front of the stove. I rocked up and down on the balls of my feet, and then spun to around to study the cupboards and counters that bore signs of food preparation. "I wanted to help with breakfast though," I pouted. Then I blinked and turned back to him. "Hey, does anyone need a bento?"

Ukyo's brows furrowed in thought. "Not really. Most of them have tight schedules, and there's hardly enough time to make one for everyone who might need one..."

"I could make them!" My hands went up in excitement. "Can I make them? Please?" I peered up at him through my lashes, and grinned when he flushed slightly. He quickly looked away with a chuckle.

"Of course," he replied in amusement. "As long as you make one for me as well."

I grinned and patted him on the arm. "Aw, of course! You're getting the prettiest one!" I whirled around and quickly went to work. I wasn't sure who liked what yet, but I was pretty sure I couldn't go wrong with the basic rice, eggs, fish and fruit. There were enough lunchboxes in one of the cupboards, and I quickly filled them with sticky rice, egg rolls and fruits/vegetables. Wataru's took the longest because I wanted to shape the rice into a bunny.

Iori was the first to come down, although I would probably not have noticed him had I not looked up at that moment and seen him with one leg already out the door. "Good morning Iori-nii! Are you heading out early?"

He paused, and stared back at me. Iori didn't talk much, I could tell, but he was really pretty. They were all really pretty, and this was getting ridiculous. He nodded slowly in response to my question. "Good morning, Ame-chan."

I frowned and quickly studied the boxes on the counter, then grabbed one of the full ones and clapped on the cover. "Here. You don't have to eat it, but if you get hungry at some point..." I trailed off, suddenly doubting my culinary abilities. I didn't have a lot of talents, and the few things I knew how to do were self-taught. What if the food tasted bad?

Just as I was about to pull it back, hands covered mine briefly before the lunchbox was lifted from between my fingers. Iori nodded at me a tad stiffly. His expression hardly changed, but his eyes were softer now. "Thank you, Ame-chan."

"You're welcome!" I grinned and bounced back into the kitchen. Subaru was next to come downstairs, and then the twins, followed by Wataru, and finally Yusuke. Kaname, I learned, was still at work. What did he work as anyway? I was almost afraid to ask.

A quick aside, Ema came down when I was about halfway through and I enlisted her help in making Yusuke's because I thought it would be funny to see him blush and act all tsundere when she handed it to him.

"Here you go," I handed Wataru his own bento last, and smiled when he took it with an exclamation of total delight. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I put a little bit of everything. After school, you can tell me what you like and don't like and I'll see what I can do, alright?"

"Thank you, big sister!"

 _Awww!_ I planted an exaggerated kiss on his cheek and waved him off. A moment later, arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind me, and a warm body pressed up against my back. "No fair~. Where's my kiss?" Tsubaki whined deviously. "Little sister, don't I get good morning kiss?"

I rolled my eyes and twisted around to return the hug. "Isn't that a thing for couples living together?"

"Maybe~"

"Stop teasing her, Tsubaki," Azusa rolled his eyes fondly.

Tsubaki stuck his tongue out at him over my head. "I don't wanna! Our little sister made us bentos! Ame-chan would make such a good wife, don't you think?" He pressed an equally loud kiss on the cheek closest to him, and received a smack on the side of his head courtesy of his twin. "Ow~"

"If you're done, we do have a meeting that we can't be late for," Azusa arched an eyebrow. I carefully squirmed out of Tsubaki's arms and held out two boxes to them at the door.

Tsubaki grinned down at me. "Do I at least get a goodbye kiss~?"

"Bye Tsuba-nii," I shut the door and turned to stare at the area of my workspace that was covered in rice grains, specks of oil, flour, and bits of grated cheese. _Time to clean up..._

While I cleaned, I thought about my new brothers and their...behaviour. They were all men of age, and they had only lived with each other, of course the presence of two girls would make them curious in more ways than one. Still, none of them – barring Fuuto – had done anything to either of us (and I was also discounting what happened with Subaru because he was drunk and probably not in his right mind).

I still had to keep a look out though. I didn't trust them all that much, barring Wataru of course. People are capable of acting without thinking, and if one of their actions hurt Ema then there would be hell to pay.

Once I was done cleaning, I curled up on the couch to watch some TV. I was bored, and aside from scrolling through my social media platforms and periodically glancing up at the TV while I tried to banish the pervasive feeling of laziness so I could start on my project, I really didn't have much to do.

Ema's suggestion had given me an idea about a topic, and I flipped to my notepad app so I could review the few notes I had made, and add more. It was while I was doing this that the door of the flat opened. The tired shuffle and click of wood on tile told me that Kaname had finally returned home at – I glanced at the clock – ten in the morning.

He looked tired, but even that wasn't enough to alter his natural charm and good looks. He seemed surprised to see me, but quickly smirked and walked over. "Good morning, my darling little sister," he greeted smoothly.

"Good morning," I patted the space beside me, and he settled in with low sigh of relief, glad to be off his feet. He smelled of incense and perfume, and there was an obnoxious red stain on his right cheek, as though he'd been trying to wipe away a lipstick stain.

But hey, that was none of my business, but it did make me wonder where he worked and what he did that made him return home so late, or early if you want to look at it that way. "Have you eaten anything recently?" I asked instead, pawing curiously at the purple and gold cloth around his shoulders.

"There were several shops still open," Kaname chuckled and lifted it so I could wrap it around my shoulders like a shawl. It was a bit stiffer than I would have liked, but pleasingly warm from Kaname's body heat. It smelled like him too, which was a good thing. I tugged it higher, until my eyes peeked out from above the hem. Kaname regarded me with a smirk. "I didn't realise you missed me that much, little sister."

I poked my head above the top to yawn. "I didn't," I replied drowsily as I let my eyes slip shut. "I was just bored."

He hummed amusedly, and then I felt fingers in my hair. "You shouldn't fall asleep near men you don't know, little sister," he told me, sounding closer this time. I forced myself not to tense up. "You don't know what could happen."

"I do know you though," I replied sleepily. "I trust you, big brother." With that, I let myself fall asleep.


	7. School Days

**I actually really love Fuuto. He's so awful, but I like writing his interactions with Ame!**

 **School Days**

When I woke up, there was a hand in my hair, and my mouth was incredibly dry. There were also someone talking above me, and I was also lying on top of someone, which should honestly not have been as comfortable as it was. I have napped on top of Ema, and maybe it's because we're nearly the same height and build (with the addition of bigger breasts) but it wasn't much fun.

How long had I been asleep anyway? Naps have a strange way of messing up time for me, I think it's been an hour but it's actually been three days. First of all, who was I sleeping on anyway? I cast my foggy mind back a bit, and remembered a swath of purple and gold fabric and amused eyes. Oh right, Kaname, so that was his hand in my hair.

Next, who was talking? If I had only been asleep for the hour I hoped, then no one should really be home by now. I hummed and tried to tune into whatever was being spoken about. "...getting along quite well," the person said.

"She fell asleep on me," Kaname replied casually. "As her older brother, I couldn't push her off."

There was an amused huff of laughter, and then footsteps moving away. "I should leave, otherwise I'll be late for my shift at the hospital." Oh, that was Masaomi. What was he doing home? I thought he'd left already. "I wonder if there are any more bentos left."

 _Oh, I forgot to make one for him!_ I immediately felt bad, and resolved to make a really good one for him tomorrow. I'd have to ask all of them, or Ukyo for food preferences. Masaomi laughed at something Kaname said that I missed, and then I heard him leave. A few moments later, the door opened and shut.

I sighed, and felt myself begin to fully leave that peaceful limbo between sleep and total awareness. Kaname began to curl a strand around his finger. "Has Sleeping Beauty awoken?"

"What time is it?" I croaked, letting my eyes flicker open. The sun was still high in the sky thankfully, so at least I knew I hadn't slept the entire day away.

"Just past 12," Kaname replied. I lifted myself up and blinked down at him. He had stretched out along the couch, shifting his body so that my head would rest comfortably on his chest, and the rest of my body was cradled in his lap. "Did you sleep well, little sister?"

His question caught me in the middle of a yawn, so I nodded. "Yeah," I blinked lazily and resisted the urge to just flop back down. Class, I had class in like – I consulted my mental schedule – two hours, and I hadn't even typed in the plan and assessment for my project. "I should..." another yawn, and then I rolled off Kaname, and the couch.

By roll, I mean literally, I hit the ground with a thump that did wonders to wake me up. "Are you alright?" Kaname watched me with an expression of amusement and worry. I stood and waved off his concern with a grin.

"I'm fine, I just realised I have some things to do before I head off the school," I stretched, and then realised that his sash was still around my shoulders. "Thanks for being my pillow," I snickered as I handed it back to him.

"Of course," he smirked as he took it back.

I walked back to my room, slowly regaining proper motor control of my legs. I quickly booted up my laptop and began to type in the framework of my project idea and also check my social media platforms. By the time I was done an hour had passed. I considered my outfit. My shirt smelled like Kaname.

I quickly changed into a teal blue babydoll dress and black leggings. I grabbed a pair of white pumps with one hand, while the other snatched my bag from my bed. "Bye!" I called out to Kaname, and anyone else who might be home. Honestly I needed to learn their schedules.

Class passed by quickly, and we were allowed to leave early if we already had a viable idea and plan. In a stroke of total genius, I'd forgotten my wallet in my room, so I couldn't swing by the cafe like I usually did. However, on my way back I caught sight of a small florist shop. There was an array of flowers standing outside, basking in the sunlight and cool spring air.

Effectively distracted by the colourful flowers, I skipped over to study the plethora, and spotted the back of a man in a very familiar uniform bent over. "Iori-kun?"

He turned, eyes wide in surprise, and then they returned to their normal state. "Ame-chan. What are you doing here?"

"My classes just ended," I replied as I joined him. "Do you come here often? There are so many flowers!" I gazed at a pot that contained a mass of greenery and small white flowers. "They're so pretty!"

Iori tilted his head to the side as though examining me, and then he turned back to the plant. "That's white heather. The flower means protection according to Victorian flower language." My lips parted in understanding, and I nodded. Emboldened by my apparent interest, he pointed to another bunch of flowers, this time yellow. "Those are evening primroses."

We stood there for a while, studying the flowers at the window. I learned a lot of flower names in the short time, before he suddenly seemed to come back to himself. He cocked his head at me and stared at me unblinkingly. "Are you hungry?"

Not the question I expected, but I was. "I am," I placed a hand on my stomach wonderingly. "Should we head home?"

He shook his head, had he blinked yet? "The cafe you like...we could go there."

"Oh, but I don't have any money-!" But he had already turned and started walking, so I quickly jogged to his side, smiling happily. I liked Iori. He didn't seem to be dangerous, nor was he worryingly flirty. To be honest, I hadn't thought much of him when we arrived, and I hadn't seen much of him anyway, but he seemed to be nice. And he liked flowers. That was already a huge plus in my book.

At the cafe, I ordered my usual bubble tea, and he ordered a coffee and a strawberry muffin, which he silently pushed towards me. When I tried to push it back – because as much as I loved strawberries, wasn't he hungry? – he simply stared at me until I accepted it and took a bite.

"This is so good!" I spoke when I'd swallowed the bite, and then I took another one. Then I took a sip of my tea. Then I took another bite. When I looked up, Iori was staring at me over the rim of his coffee cup. Rather than look away like most people caught staring, he simply blinked slowly, until I felt awkward enough to look away. I cast about for a conversation topic. "I didn't know you liked flowers."

"I take care of the garden at home," he replied. He continued to watch me, until my phone rang, the original version of _Sweet Devil_ blaring out. I jumped in surprise and quickly looked down at the screen. _Ema._

"I have to take this," I got up and walked over to a corner of the cafe. "Ema? Is everything okay?"

" _I'm fine Ame, it's just that our school is having a parent-teacher conference tomorrow._ "

I frowned. "Dad's overseas. He won't be back until next month." Dad was almost always either overseas, or busy. As much as I loved him, it would be nice if he could be home more often. I kept these thought to myself, and switched the phone to my other ear. "Do you want me to come like last time?"

" _Yes, but Yuusuke-kun told me I could put down Masaomi-nii's name for my guardian. It would be great if you could both be there. It's at 5._ "

Masaomi was almost 30, so it made sense for him to be her guardian. "My classes will be done by then, so sure! I want to talk to your principal about something anyway. See you at home!" I waited for her to end the call, and then saved a reminder in my phone just in case.

"Sorry, Ema wanted me to-" When I got back to the table, Iori was gone. Beside my tea and cupcake, however, was a small bunch of white camellias with the stems neatly tied together with a pink ribbon. _Huh, maybe he had an errand to run._ I sat down and sipped at my not-as-hot-as-it-had-been tea, and I smiled around the straw.

oOo

Tsubaki and Azusa were in the main room when I got back, and so were Wataru and Louis. I wondered whether Iori was home as well. I hadn't thanked him for the flower.

"Welcome home, little sister!" They greeted, and Tsubaki engulfed me in a hug once I was close enough. "Oh?" He caught sight of the flowers I had held away so they wouldn't be squished by the hug. "Where did you get those? From a boy?"

I rolled my eyes, catching the way his grin shifted into something sharper. "Iori-kun gave it to me," I replied, cradling them carefully and inspecting the petals for bruising. Wataru pouted, glaring at the flowers with childish jealousy.

Tsubaki cocked his head to the side, and even Azusa looked curious. "Iori? Where did you see him?"

"At the florist on my way home," I replied. "I guess I normally miss him because I usually eat at the cafe near the university before I actually start heading home, but I forgot my wallet today."

Azusa frowned worriedly. "Aren't you hungry then? It's nearly 5."

"No, it's okay," I shook my head with a happy smile, watching Tsubaki carefully. "Because we went to the cafe after the shop and he bought me some food."

His eyes grew harder and his smile more brittle. I looked away to focus on Wataru when he puffed out his cheeks and narrowed his eyes. "Big sister, I didn't know you liked flowers!" He whined, and then he perked up and grinned. "I'm gonna make big sister the prettiest flowers at school!" The child declared. "Hey, hey what's your favourite colour?"

"Light blue," I smiled. Teal to be more specific, but Wataru nodded seriously. I patted him on the head, and then glanced up at Tsubaki.

He draped back on me, and I squeaked in surprise. "No fair~!" He whined, leaning a little of his weight on me. "Iori's in the lead now. Little sister, we should go out some time!"

"Alright, that's enough," Azusa sighed, prying his twin away from me. "The flower is pretty, but you should put it in some water if you don't want it to start wilting immediately."

"Okay!" The camellias were placed on the windowsill in my room in a small jar of water in my room, and stepped back to admire them. "Camellias, huh?" I hummed to myself as I pulled out my phone to search for the meaning of the flower. Juli left his spot on my bed, and climbed onto the sill to study the flowers suspiciously.

 _Camellia – Adorable_

I blinked down at the screen, and then giggled quietly as I slipped the phone back into my pocket. "I don't trust any of them," Juli sniffed, and then sneezed when he inhaled too much of the flowers' scent. "Though, out of the wolves, I suppose Iori he might be fine."

"I appreciate your opinion," I smiled. Then I heard the front door open and shut, and then Yuusuke announced, "We're home!"

"Welcome back!" I skipped back into the room and threw my arms around Ema's shoulders, and then just rested there. I did this often, so she barely reacted.

"Is Masaomi-nii home?" Ema asked curiously. Azusa shook his head.

"No, he had to stay late at the hospital. Ukyo-nii isn't home either," he blinked at her curiously. "Is there something you need?"

Her shoulders twisted as she fumbled with her bag, and she finally retrieved a form from her bag. "There's a parent-teacher conference and I need my guardian's signature, but dad won't be back in time."

They all nodded in understanding, and then Louis tilted his head. "When...your dad...wasn't around...what did...you do?"

"Oh, Ame usually came instead when she could. When she turned 18 she was allowed to act as a sort of guardian," Ema inclined her head towards me, and I shrugged and studied the paper over her shoulder.

Once I was done staring at the paper, I told Ema to go change. "Ukyo-nii isn't home yet, so I'm going to start on dinner. You can help me if you feel up to it."


	8. Strawberry Seeds

**IT'S SO HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL 13. LIKE DAMN, HOW TF DID THIS HAPPEN WHEN DID THEIR MOTHER HAVE THE GODDAMN TIME TO BE POPPING BABIES OUT LIKE JACKPOT TOKENS?**

 **On that note, enjoy this chapter.**

 **Strawberry Seeds**

After dinner that evening, I washed the plates and pots and cutlery. As I did this, I watched through the window of the kitchen as Masaomi signed Ema's letter. "I'm sorry to ask you to do this," I heard my sister apologise. "Especially when you're so busy."

"Oh no, don't worry about it," he smiled to dispel her worries, and rose to his feet. "If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to tell me, alright?"

Masaomi-nii was safe, I decided as I dried the freshly washed cutlery. As safe, or even safer than Louis-nii. I had devised a rating system, ranging from the most dangerous of the 13 in relation to Ema (Fuuto), to the least (Wataru). Oddly enough, in spite of his unabashedly flirty persona, Kaname-nii was surprisingly low on the list.

Of course, there were still two others I had yet to meet. They wouldn't be around for the wedding apparently, so meeting them wouldn't occur for a while. Still, they didn't live in the house with everyone else, so their rating on the scale was nearly negligible. For now, I was concerned with visible problems.

"Ame..." I blinked and turned to smile at Ema as she came into the kitchen. Juli was riding on her shoulders, as usual, though he quickly scampered onto mine when I produced a bowl of strawberries from the fridge and held up one for him. "Do you need help?"

I shrugged. "Nah, I'm almost done anyway," I replied. "You should go to bed. You have school tomorrow."

Ema smiled in amusement, humouring me and my motherly ways. "Yes Ame-chan," she giggled. "I'm just excited. It's nice to have a bigger family, isn't it?"

"I wish this family wasn't made up of wolves," Juli muttered quietly, clearly not meant for Ema to hear. I smiled at Ema, and nodded, because her innocent happiness and contentment was oddly contagious. Eventually I shooed her out of the kitchen, and she left with Juli in tow. I watched them leave, and then leaned against the counter with a quiet sigh.

Though the main room downstairs was empty, the house wasn't. I could hear music playing from one of the rooms, and Tsubaki and Azusa practicing lines upstairs. There were other movements, all signs of life that were strange and oddly relaxing. I picked out more strawberries, barely glancing at the bowl as I ate them one after the other.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice when Ukyo-nii walked in. He seemed surprised to see me, and I froze with a strawberry halfway to my lips. "Oh! Ame-chan, I didn't know you were still down here!"

I blinked at him once, and then placed the strawberry I'd been holding into my mouth. Then I held out the bowl. "Strawberries?"

"No thanks," he smiled down at me, and I caught the way his eyes briefly flickered towards my lips. Lips I knew were stained red by the strawberry juice. I smiled, and shrugged, and popped another into my mouth with a hum of delight. I cradled the bowl to my chest, and watched him walk around the kitchen, pulling out a mug from one of the cupboards, and a pack of teabags from another. He flicked the switch on the electric kettle, and watched it boil. He seemed tense, and weirdly unwilling to look at me now.

I tilted my head to the side thoughtfully. "Ukyo-nii?" I called out, and he jerked in surprise, like he'd been thinking of something. "Did you like the bento I made today? I didn't get a chance to ask what you liked to eat."

He blinked, wide eyed for a moment, and then he relaxed and smiled. "Yes, I liked it very much Ame-chan. You're a very good cook."

I smiled back, pleased that he'd liked it. I had enjoyed making the food, and it was nice to know that I hadn't overstepped any boundaries, or made something that he disliked. Ukyo seemed to be one of the stabilising presences in the house, along with Masaomi-nii, and (to a slightly lesser extent) Azusa-nii.

"So I can make more?" I asked, already thinking about tomorrow. Ema and Yuusuke wouldn't need bentos, Kaname didn't need any at all since his schedule rendered him nearly nocturnal, and Azusa and Tsubaki didn't appear to have fixed schedules. That only left Masomi, Ukyo, Iori, Wataru, Louis, and Subaru. That meant six lunches.

Ukyo looked fondly amused now, and the expression made me blush. It had been a while since anyone–outside of Ema and papa of course–had looked at me like that after all. "Of course. I'm sure they would all appreciate it." There was a click as the kettle finished boiling the water, and he turned away to prepare his tea. With his eyes averted, I scolded myself internally.

My fingers dipped into the bowl again, and I blinked when I touched the empty bottom. _Darn,_ I pouted at the empty bowl, _I guess I should go to bed now._ I quickly washed the bowl and placed it into the dish strainer.

"Goodnight, Ukyo-nii," I sang quietly.

He smiled at me over the top of his mug. "Goodnight, Ame-chan."

oOo

 _So how are your brothers? –_ **Sora**

I squinted at the screen of my phone, a smile quirking my lips. As nice as the women at my work were, and as friendly as we were, we ever only texted or called each other to send instructions or warnings. The rice cooker rumbled in front of me, and I dried my other hand on my skirt so I could type out a reply.

 _Why are you awake? It's 7 a.m._ – **Ame**

 _Why are YOU awake? I'm dropping my niece off at school, so I have a valid excuse –_ _ **Sora**_

 _I'm making lunches for everyone. Well, 6/13, but close enough –_ _ **Sora**_

I was totally prepared to make bentos that next morning by the way. Well, maybe not _totally_ , I still wasn't sure of personal favourites yet, but I did know that I couldn't go wrong with a basic rice-meat-vegetables lunch. Maybe I could add some fruit, because vitamins were important, especially for Wataru.

My phone buzzed again as Ukyo-nii descended. "Good morning, Ame-chan," he greeted, and I responded in kind just as my phone buzzed again. "Who are you talking to so early in the morning?" He asked in amusement as he joined me to prepare breakfast.

"Just a friend from work," I replied distractedly, checking the messages.

 _Ooooh, making them lunch huh? –_ _ **Sora**_

 _I guess everything must be going well –_ _ **Sora**_

Both messages ended with a long string of emojis, the most prominent of which were hearts and winking faces. I snickered and rolled my eyes at her antics, pocketing my phone. "I made enough rice for breakfast and lunch," I told Ukyo as he sprayed a pan with oil and set it on the stove. "I couldn't find any fish though."

"I think we ran out," he ducked into the fridge and reappeared with a pack of pork bits. "I'll add it to the list."

"Ema and I could go shopping for it!" I shot my hand up in the air. "Or just me, if she's too busy. I don't mind!"

Ukyo laughed at my exuberance. "If she's too busy, and I'm not, then I'll go with you. Would that be alright?"

Before I could answer, chatter from above alerted us to the presence of others. Azusa and Tsubaki descended the stairs, right behind Ema and Juli, who was hissing quietly at them from atop Ema's head. Wataru zoomed down the stairs with far more energy than I expected, though I honestly shouldn't have been surprised by this point.

He nearly crashed into my legs before Ukyo could stop him. "Big sister, big sister!" He grinned up at me. "Are you going to make me another bento?"

I beamed down at me, inexplicably charmed by his excitement. "Of course! I can even make it in a different shape, if you like!"

"Yay!" He cheered. "I liked the rabbit, big sister! It was very pretty! All my classmates were jealous that they don't have a big sister like you!"

I think my heart played about 17 drum solos at that moment.Honestly, I almost felt like crying. "Thank you, Wataru," I patted the top of his head.

"Wataru, stop distracting Ame-chan," Tsubaki called out. Wataru pouted, but let go of my legs. I turned my attention back to the bentos. Since we were out of fish apparently, eggs and pork were going to have to be the main source of protein. That still meant fruits though, and I debated whether or not buying yoghurt would be a good decision since fruits and cereals go so well with it and _wow I am acting really motherly calm down maybe..._

As usual, Ukyo left with Wataru, and I don't recall seeing Subaru at all that morning but his lunch was gone. Ema left with Yuusuke, after asking to make sure I would be coming by later. As the twins were leaving, Tsubaki leaned a little closer than necessary when I handed him his own lunch. "The cafe near the meeting place has a new sweet item," he grinned down at me. "Wanna try it out today?"

Oh, that was actually really tempting, except Kaname chose that time to appear walk into the kitchen and drape an arm around my shoulders. "Sorry Tsubaki, but our little sister is coming with me today."

"I am?" "She is?"

Kaname looked ridiculously smug about this, and instead of his usual robes and sash, he was dressed in a purple suit of the same colour. "Masa-nii was called in this morning. Apparently it's urgent, so he asked me to go in his place with Ame-chan."

"Oh, I hope it's nothing too bad," I frowned, then I turned to Tsubaki with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I guess I can't go with you today, but I _definitely_ want to! Can we go some other day?"

He'd been frowning before, but he smiled when he saw how genuine I was (sweets and cakes are serious business okay?). "Definitely! I'll take you out someday!"

A gust of warm air ruffled the hair atop my head as Kaname sighed. "Little sister, you're far too sweet," he sounded faintly amused. I blinked up at him curiously, and he shook his head. "Your innocence is cute though."

I wrinkled my nose, and huffed. "Thanks," I replied sarcastically, just as Iori jogged downstairs and paused when he saw us. "Iori-nii!" I thought he'd left! I wriggled out of Kaname's arms and picked up one of the lunchboxes. "I made this for you!" I grinned up at him as he took it, his eyes blank but slightly curious. "Go on, open it!"

He unclipped the lid and lifted it, and I caught the slight curl of his lips that looked just like a smile. I'd done my best to shape the rice and vegetables into a basic five-petal flower, but I think it looked a little wonky. "Thank you, Ame-chan," Iori replaced the cover and, to my surprise, patted me gently on the top of the head.

"I'm surprised," Kaname commented when he left. "Iori isn't usually that affectionate. He must like you a lot, little sister." Arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind and Kaname rested his chin atop my head. "I may be jealous."

I rolled my eyes and twisted around so my face was pressed against his chest. "Why? You like me to, don't you Kaname-nii? Ema and I hoped we would all get along!"

He didn't say anything for a moment, and then he chuckled and stroked my hair gently. "Of course, my darling little sister."


	9. Apple Tart

**Apple Tart**

I'd never been out with Kaname in the daytime, since his job rendered him practically nocturnal. I'd expected attracting some stares, but not _that_ many. "It's because you didn't wear a tie," I sighed, pointedly not looking at him or the risqué number of buttons he'd left undone. If you think collarbones aren't attractive, well think again.

He chuckled and shrugged. "These aren't my typical clothes," Kaname replied. "We would have been late if we'd searched for a matching tie."

Our arms were linked together, as they had been ever since we'd disembarked from the bus, and I tightened my grip on his bicep when I argued back. "No we wouldn't. Ukyo-nii has lots of ties. We could have just borrowed from him," I grinned and relaxed my grip. Kaname was very solid next to me. I don't know if it's the insane height difference between us, but I liked how I fit against him. "He wouldn't have minded, right?"

"I don't think he minds anything you do," Kaname sighed with a knowing smile. "He has a soft spot for you."

We paused to let the lights turn green, and then continued walking. "Do you have a soft spot for me too?" I asked him curiously.

Kaname smiled, but he didn't look at me. "Yes, my little sister, I do." I blinked up at him curiously, but we'd already reached the front of the school. "Yuusuke and Ema-chan are both in the same class, aren't they?"

Their class was on the third floor, and was one of the rooms facing the streets. I skipped over to the door and knocked politely before popping my head in. "Hello!" I chirped.

"Hello," Kaname came in behind me, his lips curved in a smirk. "Thank you for looking after my unworthy little brother and adorable little sister."

"Ame! Kaname-san!" Ema looked pleased to see us, if a little confused at Kaname's appearance. Yuusuke just looked annoyed, but that seemed to be his default appearance. That and awkward bashfulness.

He stood up so quickly that his chair very nearly fell over. "Kana-nii? What are you doing here?!"

"Masa-nii got called away on an emergency," Kaname replied easily, casually resting his hand on the small of my back. "And I just so happened to be free, so he asked me to fill in for him and accompany Ame-chan." He gently pushed me towards a seat on the other side of the teacher, who looked like she did not get paid enough for whatever this was.

Yuusuke scowled and sat back down, folding his arms across his chest. "So, why are we doing this meeting with all four of us here?"

"Now, now, don't be so uptight," Kaname smiled. "Right, Mrs. Kishida?" He turned to the teacher with a winning smile. In spite of her tired apathy, even she mustered up a light pink blush in response. I rolled my eyes discreetly in Ema's direction, and smiled when she covered her mouth to hide quiet giggles. I picked up her career guidance form and read over it curiously.

"Oooh, you still want to come to the university I go to? And it's your top choice!" I grinned happily, and then passed the paper to a curious Kaname. "Did you know Subaru-nii also goes there?"

"Is that so?" Kaname pouted theatrically at her. "Is that because Ame-chan is there, or is because Suba-nii is? I'm going to cry if that's the case."

I snickered and reached for Yuusuke's paper. "Don't be so dramatic, Kaname-nii. Huh?" I cocked my head bemusedly. "Yuusuke-kun, your list of preferred colleges is empty."

"Why is that?" Kaname looked surprised as well. "You're not going to college?"

We all turned to stare at him, Ema included, and he winced slightly. He turned to Ema, and then quickly looked down at the table. "I...want to go there too..."

"What?" Kaname looked fairly entertained now. "Go where?"

Once again, Yuusuke jumped to his feet so quickly that his chair rattled dangerously and nearly fell over. "I just told you! I want to go to the same college too!"

"The yelling was a bit unnecessary," I murmured with a smile. He flushed and quickly sat down again, glaring out the window. "I guess that's one choice," I pulled out a pen from my bag and scribbled _Meiji University_ on the first line. "You do need more choices though."

The rest of the meeting passed by quickly, and then Kaname and I were free to go, while Ame and Yuusuke still had a few more classes to get through. "It's still a bit early," I stretched my arms above my head and squinted up at the sun. "Are you busy today?"

"Unfortunately I do have a meeting with a client in about an hour," Kaname came up behind me and laced our fingers together, bringing my arms down. "But is there something you would like to do?"

I thought about it for a moment, and then tilted my head backwards until I could see his face smiling down at me. "Let's get something to drink before you have to go."

Kaname bought himself some coffee, while I got green apple flavoured bubble tea. My go to flavour is usually strawberry, but the green apple flavour looked good too. We sat together for a few minutes, leisurely sipping our drinks, until Kaname glanced at his watch and sighed. "I have to go now."

I pulled the straw out of my mouth. "Okay, be safe!" I grinned when he bent to press a coffee-scented kiss against my cheek, and hid my smirk with another sip of tea. I could almost hear the jealous whispers filling up the cafe, and I wondered if they would still be jealous if they knew we were siblings.

You know, some of them might be. This wasn't a maid cafe though, right?

While I was sipping from my (second) cup of tea, my phone buzzed with a text. I flipped it out and blinked down at the ID. It was from Ukyo.

 _I'm off work now, I was wondering if you could come shopping with me. One of my co-workers told me that there was a sale on fish at the supermarket_ – **Ukyo**

Oooh, sales! I love sales! I quickly tapped out a reply.

 _Definitely! I'm at the Sunflower Cafe right now. Are you already headed to the supermarket? Should I meet you?_ – **Ame**

 _Stay put. I'll come get you._ – **Ukyo**

Fifteen minutes later, Ukyo walked into the cafe, dressed as usual in his red and black suit. Unlike usual, his tie was loosened and the first two buttons of his shirt were undone. He scanned the room briefly, before his gaze alighted on me with a pleased expression.

As he walked over to me, the whispers started up again, and I almost laughed. Ukyo eyed the two cups with amusement. "You really like bubble tea, don't you?"

"It tastes really good!" I grabbed my bag and my half empty cup, and followed him out of the cafe to his car. I hadn't seen it before, but it was quite lovely, sleek and black with silver accoutrements. "Do you know what we need?"

There was a rumble as the car started up. "I have a general idea, yes."

I guess news of the sale had spread, that or a lot of people really wanted fish, but the supermarket was fuller than normal. I grabbed a basket and began ticking off items we needed. "Fish, milk, cereal, sauce containers, assorted vegetables..." I stopped by the fruit aisle and considered whether it would be more prudent to buy bananas or apples.

"Not oranges?" Ukyo sounded intrigued, and I shook my head without looking at him.

"I don't like the look of the oranges," I picked one up and showed him where it was bruising. "Ema doesn't mind either, but which do you think everyone would prefer?"

"Hmm...apples I suppose," he reached over my shoulder for a bag, his front coming a tad bit too close to my back. With my back to him, I sighed quietly, and then turned to face him with a smile. He smiled back. "Anything else?"

By the time we got home, it was just getting dark and the brothers were already home, excluding Masaomi. "There you are!" I squeaked, and then giggled when Tsubaki hugged me tightly. "It's not fair, Ame-chan, I want to spend time with you too!"

I squeezed him back just as hard as we swayed back and forth in front of the door. "We can still spend time together! You promised me cake!"

"This is fairly heartwarming," Ukyo sounded like he was both annoyed but also faintly amused by us. "But I have yet to shut the door, and you're letting all the heat out. If Ame-chan catches a cold, it will be your fault."

Tsubaki spun with me, probably smirking over my head since my face was smushed against his chest. "Then I'll just have to nurse her back to health."

"And miss the wedding?" Azusa whacked him over the head, and Tsubaki released me with a put upon whine. _Oh, the wedding..._ After that, we would all be one big, happy family. At least, that's what I hoped.

I snickered and skipped over to Ukyo. "I'll put everything away." When he tried to argue, I shushed him. "No, you have work, and I'm sure you put off a lot to do the shopping. The least I can do is put everything away, okay? Besides," I turned to my sister. "Ema will help me, right?"

Apparently we'd bought a lot more than I thought we had, because putting everything away took longer than I thought. Of course we did spend a lot of time not doing anything but talking, and I did snack a bit, but whatever.

"We've only been here a few weeks, and you're already doing the shopping," Ema giggled, reaching up to slide a tin of sardines into the cupboard. "You're so motherly, Ame."

"Motherly? I'm not that motherly, am I?" I pouted at her. In response, she held up the blue bear shaped lunchbox I'd bought for Wataru. "Okay, that doesn't count, I saw it and thought it looked cute."

"You make breakfast for everyone in the mornings. And lunches!"

I glared at her, but there was no real heat behind it. "Because Ukyo-nii can't be expected to make breakfast for so many people! He has work!" Then I paused and thought about it. "Besides, aren't those more wifely duties than motherly?"

Ema thought about it as well, and then snorted out a giggle. "They are! You're acting like a dutiful wife!"

"Don't say that!" She was still laughing, so I clapped my hand over her mouth, but I couldn't stop grinning either. "I mean it! Be quiet!" She shook her head, my fingers muffling her words. "What are they teaching you in school? Shhh! You're going to wake someone up!"

"I think it's a little late for that," Ukyo walked into the kitchen, looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh. Guiltily, I released Ema, and stuck my tongue out at her when she wouldn't stop laughing quietly to herself. "You're both still awake?"

I averted my eyes guiltily. "We got...sidetracked..."

"I can see that." There was mirth bubbling in his tone, and then he shrugged off his jacket and swung it over Ema's shoulders. "But it's important to watch your health, isn't it? As I said, you mustn't catch a cold."

I saluted jauntily. "Sir, yes sir!"

There were footsteps, accompanied by a quiet tapping sound, and then someone appeared in the kitchen entrance. She was tall, with long dark auburn hair, and smiling lips that were painted dark pink. She had a slender figure, and was clad in what looked like designer clothes.

 _She's pretty...wait, how did she get into the house?_

Before I could even begin to voice that question, she was hugging Ema and I like she knew us. _What the-?_ "I've been dying to meet you both," she said in a low, pleased voice, and then she pulled back and smiled at our stunned expressions. "Nice to meet you, I'm Hikaru," she introduced herself. "I'm the fourth son of the Asahina family."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you too-!" Wait, did she say _son?!_

"In spite of his appearance, Hikaru is indeed a man," Ukyo folded his arms and sighed from behind Hikaru.

Before we could think too hard on this, Hikaru held out his hand to us with a smile. "I look forward to getting to know you both better, my little sisters."

"Yes, likewise!" Ema and I shook his hand in turn. _Oh well, he seems nice enough. I wonder if he's a make-up artist, or a fashion designer._ It would certainly explain the pretty clothes and jewellery.

Ukyo clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Honestly, what is the meaning of this. Coming home so late, when did you even return to Japan?"

"Oh, did you miss me that much?" Hikaru smirked teasingly, and then he laughed. "Actually, I was sent here on a mission," he left the kitchen, only to return with boxes. "To deliver these to you. They're packages sent with love~"

I gazed down at the boxes in awe, no doubt they contained dresses and/or shoes, and beamed at Hikaru happily. "Thank you!"

* * *

oOo

* * *

Once I was in my room, I opened the boxes one by one, starting with the smallest. As I did, the smile on my face grew larger and larger as jewellery and shoes were revealed. The largest and final box contained a gorgeous peach coloured dress, and a note attached to the collar.

 _I picked this dress out with Rintaro. Thank you for agreeing to become a part of our family, and for giving me the gift of picking out dresses for a daughter. Rintaro tells me you're very mature for your age, but I hope you grow to think of me as someone you can confide in._

I put down the note, and scooped the dress out of the box with a soft smile. _Whatever makes Ema happiest._


	10. Icing Bells

**This was going to be the wedding chapter, but it got longer than I wanted so I decided to postpone that. Enjoy!**

 **Icing Bells**

"I just realised something," I commented one afternoon as I was sitting on the couch working on some homework. Tsubasa and Azusa were on the other couch going over some lines. They weren't the only ones home though. Ukyo was upstairs working on something related to his work, Kaname was asleep, and Hikaru was...doing whatever he did during the day. Writing, probably.

The twins looked up from their script, and I frowned at the ceiling. "I don't know how to dance."

"Dance?" Azusa repeated bemusedly.

I waved my hand haphazardly to highlight my point. "Dance. For the wedding. I don't know how to! What if someone asks me to dance and I trip over my own ankles?"

Picturing the described event, Tsubaki laughed out loud, so I threw a crumpled ball of paper at his head. "Sorry, sorry!" He stood up and walked over to me. "Want me to teach you?"

Azusa rolled his eyes and sighed, which Tsubaki ignored. I blinked up at him curiously as I straightened up. "Really? I didn't know you could dance."

"We took lessons when we were younger," Azusa replied dryly with a faintly put-upon sigh. I snickered and took Tsubaki's hand. A small sound escaped me when he pulled me to my feet with just enough strength to have me falling against his chest, which smelled cleanly of cologne.

Azusa heaved another sigh as I re-established my balance. I placed my hands on his shoulders and tipped my head backwards so I could look into Tsubaki's eyes. "We'll do a basic waltz, okay?" He smiled down at me, looking much too pleased with himself. "Give me your right hand." I lifted my right hand and he laced our fingers together in his left. My left hand was still on his shoulder, and I was surprised when he wrapped his arm around my torso, letting his palm rest at the small of my back. "Follow my lead, little sister."

 _1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, ow, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, ow!_ After ten minutes of either tripping, stepping on Tsubaki's feet, and stepping on my _own_ feet, I eventually groaned and leaned my head against Tsubaki's shoulder. "Why am I so bad at this?" I whined into his shirt, and felt a puff of air on the top of my head when Tsubaki laughed.

Ukyo chose that moment to come downstairs, and he paused at the bottom of the stairs when he saw us. "What are you both doing?" He asked, sounding both confused and interested.

"Trying to learn how to dance in time for the wedding," I spun myself out of Tsubaki's arms, and let him reel me back in, nearly tripping in the process before I steadied myself on impact. "Whoa! _Trying_ being the operative word here."

Azusa smiled encouragingly. "You are improving. I'm sure you'll be fine for the wedding."

I shot him a smile around Tsubaki's shoulder, which was harder than I thought it would be. "I think it's because you're too tall," I decided, getting up on my tip-toes so I could see over Tsubaki's shoulder. "It's like you were all designed with the express need to make me feel shorter than I already am."

Tsubaki snickered and rocked me to the side, causing me to stagger slightly and cling to him. "You're so cute when you pout, Ame-chan~."

"Alright, enough." A rolled up script smacked Tsubaki on the back of his head. Azusa arched an eyebrow at him pointedly. "We _do_ have a show to prepare for, and a session to attend in the next hour. Now let go of Ame-chan." Tsubaki whined loudly, hugging me tightly which wasn't all that bad. " _Now_."

Once Tsubaki had finally pulled himself away from me, and the two left, I looked around for Ukyo. He was no longer by the staircase, but I could hear the quiet rumble of the electric kettle boiling, so peeped into the kitchen. Ukyo was reaching for the tea in one of the top cupboards.

I snuck up behind him and carefully poked both his sides, a trick a usually employed on Ema, because she would always jump and squeal even no matter how obvious I was. Unfortunately, Ukyo just glanced around to stare at me. "What was that for?"

"You didn't react!" I pouted. "You're supposed to jump, or at least be surprised!" I poked him again for good measure, and he laughed. "Aren't you ticklish?"

"Not particularly," he replied, sounding amused. "Are you tired of your dance lessons?"

"Yes and no," I hopped onto the countertop. "Azusa and Tsubaki had to leave, so lessons are currently over. I'm still bad at it though," I sighed and swung my socked feet carefully, not wanting to hit the cupboard. "I wanted to dance with Ema at the wedding."

Ukyo tilted his head thoughtfully. "You did?"

I nodded. "Since this is the last time it'll ever be just us, you know? Now we have a huge family, so I want to celebrate that with just her with a dance," I pulled a face at the end of my explanation. "That sounds so weird. Maybe I just want to dance with my little sister while we're both made up and wearing cute dresses."

He had started laughing halfway through my second explanation. "That sounds sweet," he smiled at me, and I huffed, puffing out my cheeks. "You-" he started to say something, and then seemed to pull the words back in. I blinked at him curiously, but he just smiled and shook his head. The kettle clicked itself off, and he turned to make his tea.

I stared at his back thoughtfully, and then hopped off the counter. "I'm going outside for a moment!" I stepped out of the kitchen and lingered for a moment just out of sight, then I walked over to the door. My slippers were in the corner, and I slipped them on.

The weather outside held the warm sunlight of late summer, but the cool wind of autumn. I tugged the sleeves of my jumper lower over my palms, and blew on my exposed fingers. Why did I come out here again?

"Ame-chan?" I turned and saw Iori crouching beside a bed of what looked like tulips. There were red ones and yellow ones, and even a few purple ones. He waited until I was standing beside him before he straightened and got to his feet. I noticed there was a pot of what looked like lily by his feet. "Hello."

"Hi!" I chirped back, pleased that he was talking to me first this time. Iori was so quiet, and I barely saw him most days. I gestured to the lily curiously. "Are you planting that?"

He looked down at the flowerpot, and then back at me. "I can't plant it in the ground. The soil isn't the right kind." I nodded in understanding, and then blinked in surprise when he suddenly got closer. Close enough to run his hand through my hair. "Is Louis-nii going to do your hair for the wedding?"

"I guess," I replied. "That seems likely."

Iori nodded. He was still running his fingers through my hair, and as good as it felt, I was still confused by that sudden line of questioning. "Did you know white lilies are used commonly as wedding flowers?"

"Really? I always thought that was because they were white and they matched," I tilted my head wonderingly. "I wonder if there are going to be white lilies in the bridal bouquet," I gasped quietly. "I wonder if I'll catch it!"

"It would be interesting," Iori stroked my hair one last time, and then pulled away. When I followed his line of sight, I spotted Ema and Yusuke coming in through the gate. I ran over and hugged her, behaving like a dog whose owner had just returned home.

I didn't notice the red tulip he'd stuck in my hair until Ema pointed it out to me, but when I turned around to point to Iori, he'd already disappeared inside.

* * *

oOo

* * *

A week to the wedding, preparations were well underway, and all the brothers were present. All except two, one of which I hadn't met before, and the other...

I managed to hold in the groan threatening to escape when arms wrapped around my waist from behind, a familiar chin hooked itself over my shoulder. "Hello big sister~"

 _Maybe if I just focus on the stove, he'll magically disappear._ Of course life doesn't work that way, so I eventually sighed and tilted my head back in resignation. "Hi Fuuto," I replied, just as Yusuke yanked the boy off me and threw him out the kitchen altogether. I left the soup simmering and followed them out of the kitchen. "Did you just arrive?"

Fuuto stopped taunting/arguing with Yusuke long enough to smirk at me. Or maybe that was just his default expression honestly I didn't know him well enough to be able to tell. "I got in about half an hour ago. Come on, big sister~" with the wide eyes of Ema, Yusuke, Ukyo, Azusa, Tsubaki, Kaname and Louis on him, he got right up in my face and leaned down like he was about to kiss me. "Won't you give your little brother a welcome home kiss~?"

"You've got some nerve-!" Juli hissed at him from the top of my head, forcing him to step back and glare at the squirrel warily.

Kaname whistled lowly. "I had no idea Fuu-tan was participating."

Ema and I stared at him curiously. "Participating in what?" She asked. Juli hopped from my head to my shoulder, and then onto hers.

Seeing that the threat seemed to be gone for the moment, Fuuto draped his arms around my shoulders, molding his front against my side. Tsubaki scowled and took a half-step forward. "Oi, stop clinging to Ame-chan like that!"

Fuuto turned to stare at him with a wide smirk. "Ame-chan can push me away if she wants, right?"

 _Think happy thoughts. Don't kick him. Go to your happy place._ God this wedding couldn't come soon enough.

Ema came to calm me down when I was still taking out my repressed anger on the fish. "Ame, are you okay?"

I sliced the fish in half with a particularly vicious cut, and then sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. As long as he doesn't do or say anything to or about you, I'll be fine."

Honestly I felt like the kitchen brightened a little when she smiled at me, and I smiled back. My sister suddenly clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh! You'll never guess what I found while I was looking through our things!"

A few minutes later, she presented her mysterious find to me. "Is that...my old violin?" I stared at the black violin case that I hadn't touched since I graduated from high school. Ema nodded, looking pleased. I blinked and cocked my head to the side. "Why was it in your box?"

"I don't know, but isn't this great?" She held it out to me. "Maybe you can play something at the wedding!"

I laughed exaggeratedly, and gently pushed the violin back at her. "No, I can't. I don't even know if I remember how to play anything, unless you want me to serenade everyone with _Hot Cross Buns_."

She shot me an exasperated look, but a smile twitched at her lips. "No, but you were so good! I'm sure there's a song you can play!" She pushed it back at me. "What about that song you liked so much? The one about the cherry blossoms?"

"You hate that song."

"No I don't!" She blushed. "You just used to play it constantly, but I always thought it was a really nice song. Please, Ame," she pouted, and I sighed, because I will never be immune to her pouts.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Finally the day of wedding dawned bright and sunny, which was always a good sign. I'd passed out on Ema's bed after a long night of talking, and was woken up by Ema rising to open the bedroom door for someone.

I moaned and snuggled deeper under the covers. "It's too early to talk to people..."

"It's Louis-nii," she called back, and I only hummed my approval tiredly and began the long and arduous process that was waking up and getting out of bed.

Louis' soft, slow voice drifted into the room and honestly his voice was detrimental to what I was trying to achieve. "Good morning Chii-chan...Mai-chan." We both returned the greeting, though mine was mostly a grunt. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing!" Ema replied quickly, and I felt myself slowly grow more alert. "Can I help you with something?"

"Actually...I was hoping...to do your hair," he told her. I stood and stretched, walking towards the door to join them. He touched Ema's hair lightly, which still looked ridiculously cute after a night sharing a bed. "You'll be...wearing dresses today...right? In that case...your hair and make-up...should match...right?"

I smiled up at him, at least 95% awake now. "Yes please, that would be amazing!" Ema echoed my sentiments.

He smiled back at us. "In that case...we should start...as soon as possible."

As it turns out, professionally done hair and make-up takes a long time to do. As soon as Ema and I had bathed and put on our pretty pink bridesmaid dresses, we were immediately sat down and primped and curled until we could hardly recognise ourselves let alone each other.

The make-up was minimal though: cute pink lipstick, a light blush, and some mascara. The real change was in the hair. Ema's was done in a cute style that consisted of part of it being pinned up and held in place with a pale pink pearl headband with a matching rose clip, while the rest hung down to her shoulders in gentle curls and waves.

My hair was similar to Ema's, but the pinned up part was held in place with bobby pins, and then a section of hair had been braided and wrapped around where the band would have gone. The rest of my hair hung down to the middle of my back.

"This looks so amazing!" I squealed at my reflection, turning this way and that to take in the style, and then something occurred to me. "Where is everyone else?"

Louis looked up from where he was packing up his materials. "They've...gone on ahead...they should be at the venue."

"Oh," I shrugged and turned to help Ema put on her jewellery, feeling a thrum of nervous excitement. Once this day was over, we would all legally be family.

I hoped that improved things a little. For Ema, especially.

 **I actually really like Fuuto? Idek why because if I knew him irl I would probably kick him in the shin, but I actually?really?like him?**


	11. Marble Cake

**Marble Cake**

Louis took us to the wedding venue, which was a large silver hotel. While the ceremony would take place there in the hotel chapel, the actual wedding celebration would be held in the large garden grounds. I was excited to see the decorations, especially since I hadn't had a chance to before then, but Ema was determined that we first go look for dad and Ms. Miwa to give them our congratulations.

Ms. Miwa, or I suppose I should be calling her mom but I would understandably need time to get used to having a mother again. Anyway, Ms. Miwa was a kind person from what I'd seen of her, Ema and I had only met her a few times while she and dad had been dating. She was a beautiful woman with short, stylish blonde hair and gentle blue eyes.

She and dad were talking – or making googly eyes at each other – In the dressing room when we arrived, and they both turned to see who'd come in. Dad smiled when he saw us, "I almost didn't recognise the two of you," he complimented.

Ema fidgeted nervously, her cheeks flushing. "O-On this auspicious day, I...oh that's not it, I...Ame?"

I hooked my free arm that wasn't holding my violin case through hers with a wide smile on my face. "We're here to say congratulations, and we hope you have a long and happy future together!"

"Oh my, girls are truly a joy!" Ms. Miwa skipped delicately from our dad's side to coo at us. That was also understandable, seeing as she had thirteen boys which was a magical feat in itself but it also explained why she was so excited to marry dad and was so enamoured with Ema and myself.

Once we were done saying hi, Ema and I made our way downstairs and through several hallways to the gardens. Juli was perched on Ema's shoulder while my sister sighed happily. "Ms. Miwa is such a wonderful lady. Dad looked so happy."

Juli nodded in agreement. "It'd be great if that mother would keep tabs on the animal brothers," he commented, a sentiment I agreed with.

I shrugged and skipped ahead a few feet, spinning on my tiptoes and letting the weight of my violin control my momentum. "Come on, walk _faster_! I wanna see what the gardens look like!" I kept walking, but after a moment I turned around to an empty hallway and a large door that was open just a crack.

"Ugh..." I groaned and made my way back to the door. I pushed it open easily and stuck my head inside. "I look away for six seconds and you're already lost?" Then I glowered. "And who might _you_ be?"

Standing in front of my sister was a man with orange hair and purple eyes. He also had a birthmark on his chin and looked vaguely familiar. He blinked at me in surprise, and then his eyes narrowed. "Only family members are allowed here."

"Yes, we know," I stood in front of Ema, forcing him to back up just a tad from where he'd been trying to intimidate her. "We're family."

The man took that step backwards, looking torn between confusion and irritation, and then we heard the creaking of the door and a familiar voice called out, "Hey there!"

Behind us stood the whole group, all twelve of them, dressed up to the nines in new suits. Tsubaki complimented us first, and I suspected it was his voice that had called out in the first place. "Looking real cute there!"

The others gave similar sentiments until I was torn between covering my face to hide my blush, or fighting every single one of them in order to regain some semblance of calm again, but that's just me.

In the light of their appearance and praise, I nearly forgot about the guy behind us. "Oh, Natsume's there," Tsubaki commented belatedly.

The guy, Natsume I guess, scowled although I suspect that may be his default state of being. "More like you guys did this on purpose," he snapped. "What's going on? Explain!"

Tsubaki snickered and walked around us to throw a casual arm over Natsume's shoulders. "This is Natsume," he introduced. "Me and Azusa's little brother!" He explained, and then further expounded on that by stating that the three of them were triplets, with Azusa and Tsubaki being identical and Natsume being fraternal.

 _Ah, there's the whole set_ , I stared at the three of them and cataloguing the similarities in facial structure. _It's a set within a set._ Ema and I glanced at each other just to be certain that the other was just as confused and surprised.

"And now you've met everyone!" Kaname stated as the three triplets went to stand with the others.

Wataru threw his arms up in excitement. "The brothers are complete!"

 _We're really going to become siblings with these people,_ I stared at them blankly, and then glanced at my sister fondly. _Just like you always wanted Ema, one big happy family._

* * *

oOo

* * *

The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Ema cried a few times, as did Juli. Hikaru shed a few heartfelt but delicate tears that he dabbed away calmly before they could smear his makeup. When dad and Ms. Miwa kissed, Ema squeezed my hand tightly and I didn't have to look at her to see how happy she was. That's my baby sister, always putting the happiness of other's first.

After the wedding in the chapel and before the celebrations in the garden, I dragged Ema off, citing _sisterly bonding time_ as the reason for why none of them could follow us and escort us around the hotel. We found a place to relax in the hotel's lobby and I remained standing and tapping at my phone while Ema took a seat on one of the semi-soft cubic red sofas.

She leaned back and sighed happily. "The wedding in the chapel was lovely, wasn't it? I just adored it. Didn't you think so, Ame?"

"Yeah, it was really beautiful," I nodded happily and finally dropped down in the seat next to her, sliding my phone into my bag and crossing my legs. "I'm glad it went off without a hitch."

Juli clicked his tongue and frowned up at us. "It's still to early for either of you to adore those things," he scolded. "Getting married is out of the question!"

I couldn't help giggling at how firm he sounded. "That's not what we meant Juli..." I trailed off as Natsume came in sight. He hadn't been there when I'd asked for some sister time with Ema, and that warning had mostly been for Fuuto and Tsubaki.

He walked over to us, and Ema quickly got to her feet. I sighed and eyed him closely while they spoke. Scowling may not have been his default expression as I'd originally thought, but he did have the look of someone who was constantly irritated by the rest of the world. Ema tried to apologise, probably for wandering into the chapel, but he stopped her.

"No, I should be the one apologising," he said, and I felt myself relaxing marginally. "Sorry, this is my business card with my contact information since I don't live with everyone," he pulled something from his breast pocket and handed it to her. "If anything comes up that bothers either of you, please call me."

Ema accepted the card with a pleased smile, and then she gasped when she looked at it. "This is the company that makes a videogame I like!"

"Wait, really?" I stood up and came closer so I could look at the card as well. It was fairly simple, an orange border on the right side, his company's title and logo, then his name, number and home address. Ema passed the card to me and I looked it over quickly with a matching grin. "Oh wow, that _is_ the company!"

Natsume looked surprised. "You both play videogames?"

"Yeah!" Ema perked up even more. "Like Zombie Hazard and others!"

"You play _that_ game?"

"Yeah, I love it! I've pulled all-nighters with Ame to finish instalments!" More like she'd drugged me with coffee too keep me awake so I could keep her company and help her pass the game but I wasn't going to say anything. I did cough, but that was totally on accident. "Ame likes games too, but she's not much of a gamer."

I shoved her good-naturedly and rolled my eyes. "See if I ever play multiplayer with you ever again. Ema's the real gamer though. She's _really_ good."

At least Natsume seemed to have warmed up to the two of us, but mostly Ema. "If you've beat even the latest instalment then you must be pretty good," he said admiringly, causing her to flush with pride. "It makes me happy to hear things like that, so thank you."

"Oh, y-you're welcome!" She ducked her head bashfully and I sighed internally.

The lobby was beginning to thin out as more people left for the gardens. We would have to leave soon. Natsume cocked his head thoughtfully. "Then, would you want samples of the latest games and stuff like that?"

For a moment I was certain Ema was glittering with repressed elation. "What? You could do that?"

He nodded, apparently pleased to have made her happy. "Yes, it would be no trouble at all..." he replied, and then he stopped, his eyes on something just behind us. I turned to check, and spotted Subaru. He didn't look at me, he just stared at Natsume coldly, and then kept walking. _What is up with him?_

When I looked forward again, Natsume looked conflicted and vaguely sad. "Hey, this may sound like an odd question, but how's Subaru been doing lately?"

Ema blinked, and her brow crinkled in puzzlement. " _How's he been doing_?" She echoed. "Is something the matter with Subaru?"

 _Apart from getting drunk, insulting Ema and then falling on her and kissing her, he's fine._

"I heard he's not doing too well. He was dropped from the starting lineup, and it looks like he hasn't been able to focus on his game."

 _Oh...well that too I guess._

"You've both been living with him," Natsume said. "I was hoping you'd know if something was wrong...?" I glanced at Ema, and I could tell she was thinking about that night and beginning to stress. This conversation was over.

I hooked my arm through Ema's. "We don't know what's wrong with Subaru, but we'll keep an eye out. Ema, the celebration's about to start! Let's go!" I dragged her away, and luckily she followed without tripping.

* * *

oOo

* * *

By the time the wedding reception had begun, Ema seemed to have cheered up. It's hard to be sad when there's an abundance of food and cake for constant and free consumption. My violin solo of _Senbonzakura_ was well received, and maybe I'd start practicing again, who knows? After that, and after dad and Ms. Miwa – well, Ms. Asahina now – cut the cake, Ema and I both went around taking pictures of the family.

Well she went around taking pictures, and I just followed her around with a plate of snacks, but let's not get pedantic.

I was on my last bite, which was something that tasted like coconuts, when Ema suddenly paused and lowered her camera. Standing a few feet away from us was Subaru, and he was staring at her determinedly. I frowned and glanced at Ema. She looked nervous, and that grew the closer he came until he was standing in front of her. "Can we talk for a moment?" He glanced at me warily, and I arched an eyebrow at him. "Alone?"

 _No._ "Um...okay." I stared at Ema with wide eyes, and she shot me a pleading look. "Please, Ame?"

I scowled and glanced between the two of them, before nodding jerkily. "I'm going to get more food. Do you want anything Ema?"

"Vanilla cheesecake?"

Another nod, less stiff this time, and leveled her with a mock-stern look. "We're dancing later. We get each others' first dances, do I make myself clear?"

She giggled and waved me away. "Yes Ame."

With one last wary glare at Subaru, I headed off in the direction of one of the buffet tables.

 **If you want to know what the violin solo sounds like, search on YouTube for** _ **Senbonzakura**_ **by Lindsey Stirling. It's so beautiful. If you haven't guessed by now, Ame is a fan of Vocaloid songs.**


	12. Mock Orange

**Daaaamn Indigo, back at it again with the late updates! Enjoy this informative piece of literature!**

 **Mock Orange**

Though unhappy with the arrangement, Ame left her sister to talk to Subaru, grimacing and ignoring her automatic instinct to follow them and eavesdrop. No, for now she would find someone to talk to.

It was clear that there was something going on with Subaru and Natsume, and she was curious as to what that something was. And though he had apologised, Ame didn't trust Subaru for a variety of reasons, but there was one main reason.

When sober, he was Ema's type: strong, sporty, quiet but sincere and straight-forward. He wasn't aggressive and overly flirty like Kaname and Fuuta, and he wasn't as flighty and playful as Tsubaki. All things considered, he wasn't a bad guy, and if the situation was different he might even be the kind of person she wouldn't have minded Ema liking.

However the situation was what it was, and none of the brothers were allowed to have Ema. Her sister wanted a family, she just wanted to be their sibling, so that was what she would be. Ame would make sure of that.

First, however, she needed someone who would know exactly what was going on between Natsume and Subaru. The obvious choice would be either Tsubaki or Azusa. Azusa most likely, he seemed much calmer and perceptive than his fellow identical twin. She had no doubt that their response would be biased, but whether they leaned towards or away from Natsume remained to be seen.

Ame swallowed the last of her hors d'oeuvres and carefully wiped her fingers clean with a napkin while looking around for the brothers. Striking as they were, it took her a few moments to spot the two of them making polite conversation with an older woman. She waited until the lady left, and then made her way over, injecting a dash of careless cheer to her movements.

Tsubaki spotted her first, his mouth lifting in an excited smile. "Ame-chan! Are you enjoying the wedding?"

"Yes, it's beautiful!" She smiled. "Ema loved it! I think she was even more entranced than I was."

"Where is Ema-chan anyway?" Azusa wondered. "I thought the two of you would be together."

Ame shrugged and wrinkled her nose. "She wanted to talk to someone for a moment, and I wanted more snacks. Oh, that's right!" She snapped her fingers as though remembering something. "I think Natsume wanted to talk to Subaru earlier! Have you seen them?"

Their expressions changed, varying between total bemusement and worry. "Natsume wanted to talk to Subaru?" Tsubaki repeated.

Again, Ame shrugged, blinking innocently up at them. "Natsume came to apologise to Ema for scaring her before, and I think he wanted to talk to Subaru for a moment."

Tsubaki snorted, the sound slightly colder than she's expected. "Of course he wants to talk to him," he laughed. "He probably wants to nag Subaru about basketball again."

"Tsubaki, don't spread tales," Azusa scolded.

Ame looked between them curiously. "Really? Why would he want to do that? Is everything okay with Subaru?" She made a mental note to visit the sport's hall after class.

"Apparently he hasn't been playing too well recently," Tsubaki replied. "Like his mind is elsewhere. Natsume really pushes Subaru, and I guess he doesn't appreciate it from someone who quit the sport. I know I wouldn't."

"Tsubaki..."

Ame briefly zoned out of the conversation. Subaru disliked Natsume for quitting basketball, likely because he'd admired his older brother. While the other brothers didn't seem to share his animosity, there must have been some tension within the family which was probably one of the reasons why Natsume didn't live with them.

Mulling it over for a few seconds, she caught sight of Ema peering around the gardens. She immediately grinned happily, and waved. "Ema!" She dashed over to her sister, repeating her name over and over until she barrelled straight into the other girl with an audible _oof!_ "Dance with me."

It was less of a dance – Ame hadn't been lying when she said she couldn't dance – and more spinning around in time to the music, but it was fun. Eventually Azusa cut in, and swept Ema away, while Ukyo took her hand instead.

Soon the moment came for a speech from the bride and groom, which was probably very touching but she didn't do well when it came to speeches. Next came the flower tossing, which was much more exciting for everyone else, especially the younger women. Ema participated, because she was expected to, and Ame stood with one arm around her waist, alternating her attention between her phone and the ongoing event.

"Over here!" "No, over here!" Ame giggled as people pushed at each other with varying degrees of force. On the decorated balcony, the newly christened Mrs. Asahina smiled and turned her back to the crowd. She held her bouquet loosely, lifting it up, then down in preparation while their dad looked on with a pleased smile.

The older sister pocketed her phone and leaned closer. "Do you think you'll catch it?"

Ema giggled and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm too young to think about marriage right now! It would be fun though," she pretended to think it over while Ame laughed and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her teasingly around the waist.

They barely heard the bride call out to the crowd, and toss the pretty white bouquet up and into the air. There were screams, which brought their attention up again only for the bouquet land right between them, squashed between her and Ema's chest when they'd pulled just far enough back from their hug.

Ema blinked down at it, eyes wide while the crowd made confused and disappointed noises, but still clapped and cheered good-naturedly. Ame stared as well with a bemused smile, wondering what the odds were of _that_ happening. Up on the balcony, Mrs. Asahina winked at them.

"Congratulations!" Tsubaki congratulated them as the brothers walked over. "I guess it's settled: the next bride is one of you! Maybe I'll put in a reservation!"

As always, Azusa reigned him in. "Tsubaki, let's leave that for another time."

"Another time?" He pouted, sounding put out. "Like when?"

 _Like never._ "Let's leave this alone for now," Kaname agreed. "It's still early after all." Ame folded her arms across her chest, leaving the bouquet to dangle loosely in her hand.

Masaomi cleared his throat. "Well then, allow us to say this formally once again..."

Ukyo smiled apologetically. "We're sorry for doing this in this setting, but..."

"It's _because_ we're in this setting, isn't it?" Hikaru smirked playfully.

"It's a little embarrassing..." Yuusuke smiled bashfully. "But this is how we really feel," Iori finished.

Wataru beamed happily and raised his arms. "Ready! Set!"

" _Welcome to the Asahina family!_ "

Ame stared in shock, which soon turned to overwhelming happiness as she smiled at the wonderful collection they made. Ame smiled with her, it wasn't as though she hadn't been touched by their thoughtfulness. She almost forgot to focus on what was plaguing her until it later, after they'd taken the family photo.

The woman stared down at the complimentary photo blankly. She and Ema stood in front, off-centre of course as that spot was reserved for their dad and their new mother. The brothers stood behind them, a pretty assortment of handsome men all lined up and facing the camera with smiles on their faces. All except Subaru.

He was staring at Ema.

She could recognise the look on his face. He looked longing, wistful. It was careless of him to let such a thing be captured on hardcopy for anyone to see, she thought with a disdainful huff. Oh well, she decided. If he didn't act on those feelings, then she wouldn't respond either. Ema's happiness and peace of mind came first after all.

She slipped the picture into Natsume's bag when no one was looking.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The drive home was quieter than she'd expected. They'd split up into different cars, with Ukyo, Iori and Yuusuke in theirs, along with Wataru. The younger brother had worn himself out, and was asleep on Ema's lap. Yuusuke looked as though he spontaneously wanted to combust from being so close to Ema, while Iori gazed out the window unseeingly.

Ame wondered why she was less annoyed by Yuusuke's obvious crush, and decided that it was because the redhead was too bashful to make a move. His attempts to hide his feelings were also amusing, and she was content to leave things at that.

There was movement from her other side, and then a weight on her shoulder. Ema must have tired herself out too. Ame couldn't stop the smile on her face, careful not to make any sudden moves that would cause her sister to pull away. She closed her eyes, and dozed while the car drove them back to their new family home.

 **Hey look at me being all symbolic with the chapter title lmao I didn't even know mock oranges were a thing I thought it was some weird fruit but nope it's just a type of flower.**


	13. Yellow Roses

**Why am I always late? Why?**

 **Yellow Roses**

The newly married couple left almost immediately on their honeymoon, leaving the also newly combined siblings together to adjust to their new lives together in the same house.

Ema took to this new life in her chirpy, good natured way, while Ame simply altered her priorities to accommodate for this new situation; allowing for some things, and refusing others entirely. Much of her schedule now revolved more tightly around her sister's whereabouts, plans, and companions during said plans, although this wasn't particularly new.

For example, that evening Tsubaki and Azusa had invited the two of them to an event celebrating the announcement of a brand new game. While Ame didn't particularly care for video games the way Ema did, and while she wasn't entirely comfortable with letting her sister go off without her, she knew neither Azusa nor Yuusuke were likely to do anything to Ema. Tsubaki was a bit of a wild card, but she was fairly certain Azusa would keep him in check.

Her shift had ended early that evening, and she returned home to what felt like an empty house. "I'm home!" She announced cheerily, shrugging off her coat and kicking off her shoes. There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, and she followed her nose.

As she'd expected, Ukyo was standing over the stove. The blonde looked up to smile at her kindly. "Welcome back, Ame-chan. How was work?"

She made a face, and gave a half-hearted shrug. "Mai-chan!" Juli squeaked, scampering over and launching himself onto her shoulder, babbling all the way. "How was work? Where's Chii-chan? You didn't go with her? You know she's with Tsubaki and Yuusuke, right? I'm a bit worried!"

Ame patted the squirrel consolingly. "Azusa's there as well," she reminded him quietly. "And Yuuske's too bashful to try anything. Ukyo-nii," she raised her voice and came over to see what he was cooking. "Rice and curry?"

"It's for later," he explained, checking the rice. A cloud of steam wafted into the air, temporarily blurring her vision. "Wataru needs to eat after his nap, and then he may need help with his homework."

Ame huffed out a laugh, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "I may need help with _my_ homework," she walked over to the front room and dropped her schoolbag on the couch, having gone to work straight from classes, and then come straight home. "Where's everyone else?"

"Tsubaki and Azusa are at the event with Yuusuke and Ema-chan," he consulted the colourful but complicated schedule board hanging on the kitchen bulletin board. "Iori is attending late lectures, and Louis seems to be working a late shift. According to the schedule, they'll both be eating out. As for the rest, they don't seem to have anything going on, but I haven't heard from them yet so I can't be sure…"

The rice cooker made a little buzzing sound to indicate that the rice had been cooked through, and Ukyo turned to empty it into the dishes. "Ema said she's on her way home now, and she mentioned that Yuusuke was stopping by the bookshop to buy study guides."

"Well if he plans to enter the same school as Ema-chan, he will have to put in a certain amount of effort," Ukyo lifted the apron over his head and folded it over his arms. The steam from the rice had caused sweat to bead on his forehead, and his hair had slipped out of its usual combed-back neatness, and now curled attractively over his brow. "I'm relieved to hear that Yuusuke seems aware of that, in his own way."

Ame scoffed quietly, still not really on board with Yuusuke's decision to tail her little sister to university, and then blinked as her phone began to vibrate with a message. She pulled it out from her pocket and blinked at the screen in surprise. "It's Fuuto." He didn't call or text her often – little blessings – but when he did, it was usually something indecently flirty and inappropriate. He still insisted on calling her 'onee-chan' in that weirdly husky way of his, which just made her feel gross. Luckily, this message was short and pretty tame. "He says the taping for the year-end special is running late, so he's staying overnight there." Ame quietly left out the part where he'd then suggested that, once he got back, maybe she could cook for him again as his lovely _big sister~_.

 _I am vaguely discomforted by this._ "Oh, is that so?" Ukyo smiled, just as her phone rang with a call. This time it was Kaname, and she relaxed slightly. Ame liked Kaname, even if he was a bit of a flirt.

The man sounded like he was standing outside. " _I was planning on having dinner with you tonight, but I've gotten stuck with having to eat with a patron._ "

"I understand. I'll let Ukyo-san know."

Kaname chuckled through the phone, his deep voice enough to warm the heart of any woman. " _That's a little cold, don't you think? What I'd really like to hear is: 'awww, big brother isn't coming home?'_ "

"Wh-? You do realise that I am a legal adult, not a baby," Ame snickered silently; out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Ukyo was beginning to frown slightly.

" _Ah, but you're still my darling little sister, aren't you Ame-chan?_ " Kaname's voice dropped huskily as he stressed the word 'darling', and nearly cooed out the syllables of her name.

"…goodbye, Kaname-san." With that, she flicked her phone shut and sighed. _What a massive charmer,_ she thought, and then she jumped as her phone began to ring _again_ with another call. At least this time it was from Ema. "Ema! What's up? Are you nearly home?" She could hear people in the background, and want sounded faintly like a train.

" _Almost, I just wanted to tell you that Masaomi-san called me to say that he won't be home tonight. One of his patients took a turn for the worse so he has to stay back._ "

"But didn't he do that last night?" The woman frowned worriedly. "Never mind, I'll tell Ukyo-san, so get home safely, okay! Oh! On your way back, could you pick up some cheese from the convenience store?"

" _I will!_ " There was a clicking sound as she hung up. Sighing, Ame turned to Ukyo. "It looks like Kaname-san and Masaomi-san won't be home for dinner either. What's wrong?"

Ukyo's eyes fluttered, and he quickly smoothed his brow, but he couldn't really hide the disappointment in his expression. "It's just that…in the past, all those calls used to go to me…"

"Oh…" The hand holding the phone was lowered to her side, and then Ame shrugged. "I don't think you should worry about it much. It's just been guys in the house, hasn't it? My guess is that they're just excited to have new family members. You're still the best caretaker." Ukyo's lips twitched into a small smile, grateful for her words. Ame gestured towards the still simmering curry. "Want me to take over?"

"Thank you." She held still as he looped the apron over her head, and gestured for her to turn around so he could tie the strings together. It was large on her, but at least it covered her clothes much better than Wataru's did (even if the bunny-themed apron had been way more adorable).

The woman focused on the cooking food. "I'm home!" Ema's voice rang from the doorway, along with Juli's excited squeaks. Ame rolled her eyes with a smile; the squirrel rarely lavished _her_ with that much affection, mostly because he _was_ Ema's pet. "Ame-chan, I got what you asked!"

"Thanks!" She turned to pull her sister into an affectionate hug, and then stared at Subaru as he came down behind her. "Did you both come home together?"

"I saw him when I was coming out of the supermarket," Ema explained. Ame nodded in understanding, internally cursing. She narrowed her eyes as he finally managed to tear his gaze off Ema long enough to greet her.

"Good evening, Ame-chan. Dinner smells delicious," he glanced around curiously, likely for Ukyo. "Where is everyone else?"

"It seems everyone is going to be late home tonight," Ame replied, keeping her arm looped around Ema's waist. "Ema, why don't you help me finish up here?"

One thing could be said for Subaru, Ame thought to herself as she ate, he had a very hearty appetite. It was likely from all the sports he played, he needed the energy. She and Ema watched silently as he devoured every bite and bit of food on his plate, downed his glass of water in record time, and got up. He nodded at Ame. "Thank you for the food."

"Restless sort of guy, isn't he?" Juli commented dryly. Ame eyed the plate and glass he'd left on the table, and wondered _just_ who he thought was going to clean up after him.

Deciding to suck it up and clean up, because otherwise Ukyo might have to do it, and he had enough on his plate at the moment, Ame got up and stacked his plate underneath her own. _This little sister/housewife/maid deal is not what I signed up for._

Once Ame had disappeared into the kitchen, Subaru turned around to face Ema. He hadn't wanted to say anything with her sister in the room because, quite frankly, Ame scared him. He got the feeling that, if she caught even the _tiniest_ inkling of his crush on Ema, she'd deck the shit out of him. Ema blinked at him with those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers, and he felt himself wanting to retreat bashfully, but he forced himself to stand firm.

"Right now, I've been dropped from the line-up, and I'm not in any games, but I'll get back in the regular line-up for sure, so…when that happens…" he flushed pink. "When I do, I want you to come see me play."

"Subaru…?" Ema stared after him in confusion while Juli muttered to himself. In the corner of the kitchen, Ame leaned against the wall with her head lowered so that her hair shadowed her eyes. She could hear Subaru's footsteps going up the stairs above her, and she smiled and switched on the dishwasher.

It was worth it to hear the way he tripped himself running up. Once she was certain he was gone, Ame flipped out her phone and tapped at the screen until she had pulled up the number she wanted.

 _I think you mean 'if'._


	14. By Any Means Necessary

**S/O to the people who thought Ame was hella chill and sweet lmao no.**

 **By Any Means Necessary  
**

When Ame was nine, she got a boy expelled from her school.

He was older than she was, but not by much; maybe a year or so above her, but with a predilection for picking on those younger than he was, and chasing the girls who didn't want to be chased. Ema was one of those girls, and Ame had to run him off whenever he set his sights on her. However, on the days when she was placed in charge of tidying up the classroom during break, she could only watch helplessly as he terrorised her sister up and down the yard.

Telling the teachers did nothing. They brushed it aside as her being ' _overprotecive'_ , they laughed and said that ' _boys will be boys_ ' and ' _how cute, maybe he has a crush on her!_ ' But they knew nothing, and Ame was the one who had to comfort her crying little sister at the end of it all.

It was much easier than it should have been to get rid of him. Their principal's daughter was in her class. She was a pretty girl, taller than everyone else and better dressed too, and she had a ring she loved dearly. It was pink and shaped like a lotus flower, and she liked to tell them that it was a gift from her dad from when he took them to America on holiday. Most days of the week, her mother gave her a packed lunch, and since the ring was large and clumsy, she took it off so she could handle her chopsticks. Ame didn't think much of her actions until she dropped the ring into the boy's backpack, and then waited for it to be discovered at some later date. She would think about it much later, maybe mull it over for a bit, and then stop thinking about it.

A few weeks later the boy disappeared from their school. By the next month, the board of directors had appointed a new principal to replace the old one due to accusations of nepotism. On the playground, Ema smiled as Ame shared her octopus sausages with her under the cherry trees, and no one was there to chase her or make her uncomfortable. Ame had seen to that.

Ame would _always_ see to that.

And yes time had gone by; she was older now, and she understood the moral ambiguity of her actions, but she wasn't sorry. Not as sorry as she ought to have been. In the grand scheme of things, Ema came first to her, and no one was going to touch her baby sister as long as she was around.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Good day, Subaru-kun!"

He yelped, surprised by the sudden greeting, and then proceeded to choke and cough as the water he'd been gulping went down the wrong way. Ame detachedly applied a coat of gloss to her lips while he hacked up most of the liquid, and smiled sweetly once he was done. Subaru whirled around to face her. "Ame-chan! W-What are you doing here?" The labs and classrooms were across the campus, and unless your class or activities had to do with a sport of some sort then most people had little reason to visit the fields or gym.

The tube of pink shut with a quiet _snap_ , and Ame blinked at him."Do I need a reason to visit my new brother? Especially since you might be playing in the next game."

"O-Oh…" he wasn't sure what else to say. Ame had been rather benign considering what she'd overheard the night before, but that didn't mean she was alright with him more or less inviting her sister out on a sort-of date to watch his match. His sister too. Step-sister technically, at least on paper anyway.

She must have been coming from somewhere else, and was dressed cutely in a pale pink collared dress, a blue cardigan, tights and black kitten heels. Her thick hair had been swept over her left shoulder, and pinned in place. Ame looked like she had just been on a date, or was heading for one. She was tapping at her cell-phone now, lips pink and shiny and curved in a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I bet you're excited for that, aren't you Subaru-kun? I heard that there're loads of important people at these games. Scouts and coaches etc. Oh, but I don't think you care about that right now," Ame lifted her head and regarded him. "Do you, Subaru-kun?"

His face blanched when he saw the picture on her phone screen. It was the group wedding photo, the one they had all taken. There was only one in the house, hung up on the wall, and no one paid much attention to it. However Ame had cropped the image on her phone so that Subaru's face was the focus, and it was perfectly clear who he was staring at.

"It probably sounds romantic to you, doesn't it?" She commented casually, resuming her tapping. "You win the game and then, riding high on the the sheer adrenaline of victory, you sweep her off her feet and profess your undying feelings to her. It _is_ romantic, but it's not going to happen."

Subaru's eyes narrowed, defiance beginning to replace the nervousness. "What do you mean by that? I have all right to tell Ema-chan how I feel!"

"Mmm, do you though?" Ame arched an eyebrow and slipped her phone into her bag. "Because I don't think you have as much right as you seem to think you do." She took a step forward, her heels clicking threateningly on the concrete. "In fact," she continued, backing him up against the side of the gym, "I happen to think that you have absolutely _no_ rights to Ema's feelings whatsoever, apart from whatever she deems you worthy of! And so far, she considers you a brother, so you had better stick with that and enjoy it because I _swear_ , if I hear that you've made my baby sister even the _slightest_ bit uncomfortable, there will be _dire_ consequences."

Anger and fear swirled inside Subaru. A part of him wanted to ask about these consequences, but the longer he stared into Ame's eyes the less he wanted to know. Gone was the sweet, innocent expression that looked so similar to Ema's, and in its place was something cold and ruthless. She didn't wait for him to agree or disagree, and simply spun around and walked off cheerfully. Her skirt hair swished at her thighs, and Subaru vaguely wondered if Kaname or Ukyo or any of the others knew what they'd got themselves into.

 **I would just like to add that Ame is not a bad person. Yes her actions may be morally ambiguous sometimes, but everything she does is for Ema's safety. She genuinely cares about the brothers, but Ema is a blood sister, and her love for her trumps her affection for them any day. If you're wondering why she's mean to Subaru, it's because in the original light novel Subaru is the one Ema ends up marrying in the end.**


	15. Peppermint Canes

**Ame's aesthetic: think of every cheery, bubblegum themed song that makes you think of pastels and rainbows until you later check the lyrics and realise that it's the documentary of someone's death. I know I keep saying she isn't a bad person, but like the last chapter implied, she'd willing to manufacture some morally ambiguous situations if it means that Ema is happy.**

 **Peppermint Canes**

Ame smiled with satisfaction at the seven lunchboxes arranged on the table in front of her. She'd picked up on everyone's tastes fairly quickly, and had crafted different lunches, though she maintained that Wataru's was the cutest and most delicious because only the best would ever be alright for the youngest and least problematic of the Asahina brothers. The second cutest was Ema's, obviously, because Ame might be a tad overprotective but she wasn't cloyingly so.

Biting her bottom lip gently, Ame flipped out her phone and considered her schedule for the day. She had a class in the afternoon, which gave her enough time to come home and help Ukyo with dinner, but before all of that she wanted to go present hunting since Christmas was fast approaching. Tsubaki and Azusa would be at home today waiting on the results of their auditions. Kaname had returned and, after pressing a bleary but no less affectionate kiss to her cheek, he'd passed out on the couch. Ever the pragmatist, Ame had cooked a separate brunch for him and stuck it in the microwave.

Subaru had left early that morning for training. Since quite a lot of his time had been taken up either with training for his upcoming match and his actual classes, Subaru's drawn-out absences were never really commented on by anyone else. She smiled to herself and slid her phone back into her pocket.

It had occurred to Ame that she didn't consider Hikaru to be a threat in the least. That wasn't because of his unique style of dressing, but Hikaru's keen eyes and cunning smirk put her in the mind that of a large housecat; someone who was more interested in watching the proceedings than actively participating in them. It wouldn't surprise her if he knew a lot more than he let on, and she made a mental note to ask a few questions.

Upstairs a door opened and shut, and Ema came trudging down the stairs, a hand over her mouth to cover up her yawn. Ame immediately shifted her attention to her sister. "Good morning, Ema!"

"Ame, you're up already?" She spoke around the wide yawn, which almost unbalanced Juli. "Did you make breakfast?"

"I made pancakes," she pointed to the plates of golden-brown stack that was cooling slowly. "The ones on the left have strawberries, the ones on the right have chocolate and the centre ones are plain. There's butter and syrup in the fridge."

Over the course of the next ten minutes most of the other brothers trailed downstairs sleepily, though they slowly grew more alert with every bite of fluffy pancake drizzled in golden syrup. Ame almost regretted the inevitable sugar-rush Wataru was bound to suffer later. Almost. She stopped regretting it altogether it when he smacked a sticky-sweet kiss against her cheek and proclaimed her _'the best big sister ever!'_

"It's been a while since we've had pancakes," Tsubaki said around a mouthful. "They're delicious! No offence, Ukyo-nii." He grinned toothily at the older brother, who just smiled serenely and went back to wiping Wataru's face clean.

Ame smiled sweetly and began scooping the utensils she'd used into the dishwasher. "Thank you Tsuabaki-nii, I do my best. I'm glad you liked them." She untied her apron and draped it around Iori's neck. He looked surprised to find her standing so close to him. "Help me clean up, please? I need to go out in a few minutes. Kaname-san will be home in an hour, so there's food in the microwave."

"You're so much like a mom," Iori smiled, the tops of his cheeks faintly pink.

"I try my best," she rolled her eyes, and tousled Wataru's hair on her way out. She heard Tsubaki mumble something quietly, and Iori's flustered reaction.

By the time she'd finished bathing and gotten dressed up in blue jeans and a thick, cream-coloured jumper, everyone had left. She could hear Tsubaki and Azusa watching TV in the living room and discussing their upcoming roles.

"I'm going!" She called out loudly, changing into her boots at the door. It was chilly despite how bright the sunshine was. Ame inhaled the crisp morning air, scented with the red tulips Iori had planted in the flowerbeds, and the green grass. She ran a hand through her still-damp hair, and styled it into a thick, loose braid that dangled over her shoulder. Her bracelets clinked softly together and she felt excited for the day.

There were so many stores to visit that morning, and so little time. Ame pouted, maybe her initial decision to buy presents that morning had been a bit optimistic. At least she could look around quietly and in peace until she had to catch the bus to her class.

She was gazing at some new winter fashion displays when arms wrapped around her stomach from behind. " _I found you~_ " Fuuto cooed in her ear, and Ame sighed internally and let her arms fall limply to her sides. "Big sister, how have you been? Did you miss me at all?"

"Yes. Like I missed the flu." A puff of laughter brushed against her ear; Ame stepped out of his arms and turned to stare at him with an unimpressed expression. He was dressed almost casually in a buttery yellow hoodie and a pale blue shirt underneath, and brown cargo pants. For someone who ought to know the importance of hiding his identity, he wasn't doing much to do so. Ame eyed the black-framed glasses on his face and lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm on break so I thought I'd take a walk," he smiled, stepping closer to her. "I never thought I'd run into you. Let's go on a date!"

 _What a non-sequitur_. "Let's not." He pursed his lips as though his disappointment was somehow justified. Ame rolled her eyes. "I have class later, and I still want to look around."

"Then let's look around," he leaned into her space, eyes half-lidded and voice several breaths lower. "Come on, big sister. Won't you spoil your darling little brother?"

She got the feeling that he was turning their new and admittedly peculiar family dynamic into a really strange kink. "Wataru is my darling little brother. Come on," she turned and kept walking. Fuuto caught up to her, grinning smugly. A moment later he grabbed her hand and locked their fingers together. "What are you doing?"

"Holding your hand~," he smiled innocently, the way he did the first time Ame had seen him on that TV show – like sugar wouldn't melt in his mouth. "I can do that, can't I? I'm your little brother~."

"You're annoying as heck is what you are," she retorted dryly, deciding not to yank her hand away and avoiding what would ultimately have probably turned into a public game of keep-away. Ame tossed her hair out of her eyes and resolutely refused to look back at him. "Let's go."

If she'd thought Fuuto was annoying before, then he was twice that when on his own. Whenever she stopped to consider something in a window display, he wrapped his arms around her waist and cooed flirty things in her ear. Ame had seen no less than 7 displays and had shoved him away an equal number of times, but he just clung to her like the most devoted koala bear ever. Or boyfriend.

Of all the goddamn routes for her life to take…

He dragged her towards a candy store advertising Christmas-themed boxes, chocolate fir trees and Santas decorated with red and white marzipan and all colours of buttercream icing. "Big sister, buy me sweets!"

"Oh my gosh, you're such a brat," she rolled her eyes skyward, and then checked the time on her phone. "Fine, but I have to get to class after."

They exited the store 15 minutes later carrying two bags of candy between them. Ame unwrapped a cherry pink lollipop and popped it into her mouth while Fuuto nommed his way through a Christmas-themed pack of Maltesers with an innocently happy smile on his face. It was cute how much he tried to act like he was such a dark, seductive Casanova when in reality he was nothing more than a 15 year old kid with an ego and a sugar addiction. At least he was to her anyway. He could probably get away with that personality with someone else.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. "I've gotta go." She shoved her bag of candy in his arms. His mouth was full so he could only blink at her in surprise. She "These should keep you going. Don't ruin your appetite, alright?"

She walked away before he could swallow what was in his mouth and call out to her, and then she checked her phone. In reality, she still had a good hour and a half before her classes started, but Fuuto had let something important slip during their date.

 _You know~, I'm going back to school later. I'm going to be with Ema-nee-san and Yuusuke-kun~. Ah, I wish you could be there big sister. I'd be such a cute underclassman for you~._

That was the thing: she didn't go to that school anymore, and while Fuuto seemed to thrust the bulk of his attentions on her, she was very certain that he wouldn't hesitate to transfer a little of it onto Ema if he got the opportunity.

The pedestrian light in front of her switched from red to green, and she crossed the narrow road that separated that little corner street from Ema's school building. She had several more things to do that morning, and there was no time like the present.


	16. Chocolate Chip

**Chocolate Chip  
**

Ame was annoyed that the sun had gone down completely by the time she managed to make it home. It did get dark very quickly during winter, and all streetlights were all on. The whole of the town was covered in Christmas decorations even though it wasn't even December yet, but Ame appreciated the sentiment and shared the excitement. Christmas was one of her favourite holidays.

She exhaled softly just to see her breath puff out in the cold late evening air, and made her way up the driveway to the house. She was surprised when she almost bumped into Tsubaki. "Tsubaki-san?" He kept walking as though he couldn't hear her, and she frowned after him until he disappeared around the corner. "What's his problem?" She muttered to herself, just as Azusa came flying out as well. "And what's _his_ problem?"

When she got inside, Ema was standing by the door holding the mail, which was just one large white envelope with orange lines going up the sides. Ema smiled when she saw her. "Ame! You're home! Do you know what's wrong with Tsubaki-san and Azusa-san?"

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the exact same thing," Ame replied, walking over and glancing curiously at the slim package. "What's in the envelope?"

Ema blinked, her mind turning away from whatever drama was happening with the fraternal twins. "Oh! It's a demo of the game Natsume-san said he would send me!"

" _Panzer of the Dead._ Oh that sounds cool!" Ame grinned, letting the shoulder-strap of her bag slide off her shoulders and to her elbow. "Wanna go play it now? I'll allow it, since it _is_ a Friday and all."

"How generous of you," Ema giggled. The two girls skipped upstairs, after gathering the necessary amount of snacks needed to pull off an all-night gaming marathon (Ame was under no illusions about what this night would turn into), and settled down in front of the TV in Ema's room to watch one of them blow up zombies from tanks.

An hour later, they both found themselves utterly entranced by the plot and characters. "I didn't expect to feel so emotionally moved by a zombie game," Ema murmured, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"Me neither," Ame replied just as quietly, reaching blindly for the half-empty bowl of chips. "I think the voice acting makes it flow well."

Juli nodded sagely, impressed in spite of himself. "Truly, this is the power of superb voice acting."

Ame wasn't sure what happened next, only that she closed her eyes and when she opened them again, it was morning, and her hair was filled with crumbs from sleeping on the floor. She yawned widely, and felt her jaw crack. "Someone needs to clean this up. And by someone, I mean you," she turned to Ema, who clearly hadn't slept at all. "You have messed up your sleep schedule for the foreseeable future."

Her sister made a sound of obvious frustration, and dropped her console in despair. "I keep getting wiped out in the Desert Zone! I've tried so many times!"

"How many times?" Ame rubbed her eyes and grimaced at how gritty her face felt. This was the last time she went to sleep on the floor. Washing her hair was going to be such a pain.

"I don't know, maybe 15? Probably more," Ema replied, reaching for the console again so she could restart the level. "Maybe I'm not using the right strategy for this…"

"How about you think about that problem later, and get some sleep now?" Ame got to her feet and stretched hard enough that she felt several bones crack and pop back into place. "Or help me wash my hair? That's something we haven't done in a while. Come on," she wheedled, when Ema looked hesitant. "I'll let you use my lemongrass shampoo~."

An hour later, the two girls made their way downstairs smelling brightly of lemongrass and rose. Ame had a towel wrapped snugly around her head to prevent water dripping onto the floor. Blow-drying was for when she was in a hurry.

"Maybe Natsume-san will know how to win that level," Ame suggested as she toasted and buttered slices of bread for breakfast.

"I don't want him to tell me how to _win_ ," Ema sounded so softly scandalized Ame had to laugh. "I just want to point it out to him."

"Maybe it's a bug in the game?" Ame suggested. She carried the plate of warm, buttered toast over to the counter, along with a mug of peppermint tea for Ema, and then turned to retrieve her own mug of milk tea.

"No, a bug would be something like the graphics glitching out if you made it to a certain area, or something like that," Ema took a frustrated bite of bread and groaned quietly. "Or maybe it _is_ a bug. I defeated all the mobs, but I didn't gain any XP or levels. Ugh, this is so _wrong_ ," her head thunked softly against the tabletop, making the plate rattle. "I thought I was _good_ at games."

Ame watched her with an amused smile on her face. "Wow this is really taking a toll on your self-esteem, isn't it?" She commented as she stirred more milk into her tea. "Can I come with you when you visit Natsume-nii? I'm not busy today." It was a Saturday, but most of the brothers were out except for Louis, Iori, Yuusuke, and Wataru who were probably still asleep.

Masaomi was at work, Ukyo was at the nearby library, Kaname wasn't home yet, Subaru was off training, and neither Ame nor I had seen Azusa or Tsubaki since last night.

Ema swallowed her sip of tea. "Yes, of course! We can both visit him together!"

Ame smiled at her, and took a sip of my tea while her sister and pet squirrel demolished most of the toast. "Oh…?" Somebody yawned from the top of the staircase. "You're…still…home…" Louis stared down at the two girls through bleary eyes. Beside him was an equally sleepy Iori, but his nose twitched at the smell of melted butter, and his eyes sharpened a little at the perceived presence of food.

"Good morning Louis-san! Iori-san!" Ema greeted happily while Ame ducked back into the kitchen to plate up more food. When she stepped out again Iori was by the window carefully spraying the indoor plants with water, while Louis was sitting at the table, smiling sleepily at Ema and Juli as she told him about their plans for the day.

Louis hummed quietly in response to something she had said. "I…didn't know…you liked video-games…that sounds…fun…" his gaze drifted when Ame put a plate of warm ham and cheese sandwiches in front of him. "Thank you…Ame-chan…"

"You're welcome!" She chirped and tweaked his hair. It was out of its usual artful style, and instead fell about his shoulders in loose, messy curls. It reminded her of what her hair had been like at that length, only his looked much easier to manage. She wondered what kind of conditioner he used, and whether he would let her borrow it if she asked nicely. "Iori, I made you some too! Come over here!"

He blinked, his grey eyes wide, and nodded. "Oh…thank you."

"You're welcome too," she smiled. Ame waited for him to sit down, and then placed a plate of sandwiches in front of him. She caught the faint blush on his face when she did.

A hand touched the towel wrapped around her hair. "You…washed your hair…?"

Ema giggled into her tea. "She fell asleep on the floor of my bedroom."

"You washed your hair too! Mine just happens to be longer, and therefore takes much longer to dry!"

"I would…have washed it for you…" Louis actually looked hurt by this, and Ame felt her heart twist a little.

"We didn't know you were awake," she replied. "Sorry. Next time we need something done with our hair, we'll come to you." Louis looked mollified by her words, and slowly scarfed down the sandwiches. Iori ate faster, but more methodically. He ate each sandwich the same way – edges first, and then everything else. Ame thought it was cute.

He caught her watching him, and she smirked when he immediately ducked his head, the blush spreading. Boys…

* * *

oOo

* * *

Ema decided to invite Natsume to the café Ame worked at, which made her roll her eyes. Honestly, her day off and she ended up at work anyway. At least it was funny watching her workmates run around while trying to pretend like they weren't watching their table covertly. '

"I'm so nervous for some reason," Ema murmured. Ame arched an eyebrow at her in question over the straw of her drink – Ema had wanted to wait for Natsume to arrive before ordering anything –and then her eyes snapped to the door when the little bell above it jingled. Natsume walked into the little café. There was a light dusting of snow on his hair and shoulders, and he'd already taken off his coat and scarf.

Ame waved to alert him to their presence, and he walked over to them. "You both got here awfully early. Did you wait long?"

"Oh, no…" Ema replied nervously as he sat down. Ame glanced at her sister, lips still firmly attached to her straw. Her ears picked up the beginnings of the hushed conversation behind them.

"No, we just got here a few minutes ago anyway," she told Natsume, easily ensuring that her sister did not hear the rest of it. "Ema wanted to ask you about the game you sent her."

"Oh?" He looked surprised. "I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about it. Ema-chan, you haven't ordered anything yet though," he looked from her empty place setting, to Ame's whipped cream and chocolate-chip concoction-in-a-cup, and back again. "What would you like?"

Ema looked surprised by that. "Don't worry, I'm the one who invited you, so I'll pay!"

Ame tensed, prepared for the whole _oh no, but I'm the man here, I'll pay_ spiel, and was surprised when Natsume just grinned and nodded. "That's a good attitude to have. If you'd planned to make me pay from the start, I wouldn't have stood for it. It's fine though, I'll treat you both."

"How about _I_ treat the three of us?" Ame piped up. "Sora can put it on my tab, can't you Sora?" She grinned at the waitress who was just walking past.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Yes, o' esteemed guest. You're working overtime tomorrow for this."

"I love you!" Ame grinned after the older woman, and went back to sipping contentedly at her straw while Ema and Natsume began to discuss game mechanics. Most of it flew over her head, but she always liked seeing her sister animated and happy.

Natsume's phone rang, interrupting the conversation. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked surprised by the caller ID flashing. "Azusa? Hello? Yeah, it's me…huh? Tsubaki?" The sisters perked up at the name, and Ema shot Ame a worried look. "No, I don't know. He hasn't called me either… Fine, if he calls I'll-"

The phone-call appeared to cut off abruptly. "Did something happen to Tsubaki?" Ema asked.

"I don't know," Natsume replied, putting the phone down. "Apparently Tsubaki didn't come home yesterday, and Azusa seemed worried. Do you know anything about what happened?"

Ame took a sip of her drink. "I saw Tsubaki leaving the house yesterday evening. He looked pretty lost in his own head. I thought Azusa followed him."

Natsume's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yesterday evening…I wonder if it's about that..."

"What? What is it?" Ema leaned forward. "Do you have some idea? Please tell me."

"Well, I overheard something at work," Natsume laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them as he thought. "It was about some upcoming anime show. Since we're a videogame company, a lot of our work requires voice actors, so news tends to travel quickly through those lines. Anyway it hasn't been announced yet, so I won't give away the title, but a certain anime is the reason Tsubaki got into voice acting, and a new series for it just got greenlit."

Ema's eyes widened in recognition. "They told us about that! They both said that they were auditioning for roles!"

"Tsubaki mentioned wanting to play the lead too," Ame added, and then she frowned. "Do you think…?"

Natsume nodded and sighed. "The producer seemed enthusiastic about it, and he's popular right now, but when the cast list was announced it turned out that someone else had been chosen for the lead. He didn't get it."

"What?" Ema sounded personally offended on Tsubaki's behalf. "Why not?"

"A lot goes into things like this," Natsume explained. "Like how his voice balances with the other actors."

"Tsubaki really wanted that role too…" Ema stared down at the table sadly.

Ame realised that she'd been sucking on air and removed the straw from her mouth. "So who did get the role?"

"Azusa."

"Azusa?!" They exclaimed simultaneously. "B-But I thought he'd auditioned for another role!"

Natsume shrugged again. "It's not unusual for actors to be given a different role than the one they applied for. That's just how it is in the business."

"Yes but they're brothers," Ema looked distressed. "And if it's a role that has a special meaning for Tsubaki, it can't be easy to rationalize it that way…"

Ame huffed quietly, drawing their attention. "That's true and all, but at the same time…agonising over it isn't going to solve anything, is it? Tsubaki and Azusa are professionals, and they are brothers. Isn't it kinder and more mature for Tsubaki to congratulate his brother on his success instead of disappearing for over 24 hours?"

"Ame-chan!" Ema looked horrified.

"What?" She blinked innocently. "Too harsh?"

Natsume hid a chuckle behind his fist, "I won't say I'm unsympathetic, but Ame-chan has a point. Azusa has been chosen, so it's his duty as a professional to live up to those expectations. Just leave them alone for now anyway. There's nothing big brotherly or mature about two guys in their 20s having their little sisters worried for them."

"I think Kaname-san would beg to disagree," Ame snickered to herself. Ema was silent though, and she was quiet as they left the café.

She perked up as they walked down the brightly lit street. Christmas was definitely in the air here. "I feel bad having you walk us back," she told Natsume shyly.

"Just until we reach the station. Don't worry about it," he replied kindly. "It's dark already. I could hardly abandon my little sisters alone in the streets." Ame appreciated his protective instinct. She let her mind wander as she took in the reindeer-shaped lights and the bare trees with their branches glowing blue and red. It wasn't snowing anymore, but the ground was still covered in a light coat of powder. "Do you two have plans for Christmas?" She heard Natsume ask behind her as she spotted the station in the distance.

"Nope, none at all," Ema replied. "Ame and I planned to stay in."

"Hey now," he said jokingly. "I don't want to hear such lonely words from a high-school girl and a university student."

She whirled around, cocking an eyebrow and grinning. "Lonely? What about you then? What fun plans do you have for this magical season?"

"Me?" He laughed. "I'll be busier than ever. These kind of occasions are when business rake in the most profits. There's no way I'll be able to get time off."

Ema giggled. "I guess you're just as lonely as we are then."

"Touche," he smiled wryly, and then cocked his head at Ema. "Do you always wear your hair up like that?"

Ema touched her hair self-consciously. "I guess I do. It's the easiest way to keep it neat, so I…"

She trailed off and her eyes widened as Natsume draped his scarf around her neck and looped it securely. Then he turned to Ame, slipped off his gloves, and placed them on her own hands. "They're a little big, but you weren't wearing any. It's a little early to consider them Christmas presents, but since I won't be able to do anything for you on that day, they're for my lonely little sisters with nowhere to go on Christmas."

Ame blinked down at the too-large maroon gloves. They were much warmer than the ones she had at home. "We don't have anything to give you though."

"Like I said," he smiled and swept Ema's hair out of her face with a friendly flourish. "Don't worry about it. Well then, I should go. I can't afford to catch a cold at this time." He patted Ame on the head and walked off.

The two stared after him, and then Ema sighed happily and tucked the scarf tighter around her shoulders. "I didn't know it would be this nice to have older brothers."

"Yeah," Ame muttered, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Neither did I."

 **I was hoping to get to the Tsubaki thing but I guess we'll get to that later!**


	17. Kiss Me At Midnight

**Me: pls…..let me write…..**

 **My brain, banging pots and pans together while playing the Barney theme song at top volume: buddy, my guy, my dude, shut the fuck up**

 **(Don't) Kiss Me At Midnight**

Ame and Ema walked home together, arms linked and their sides pressed together to keep warm in the cold night air. They turned the corner to the building and spotted Azusa sitting pensively on the stone stairs leading up to the little park. "Oh, Azusa!"

He startled, having not noticed them approach, and quickly got to his feet, schooling his features into a practiced smile. "Oh, welcome back."

"What are you doing out here?" Ame asked as he turned gaze away and stared through the glass entrance at the door. "Aren't you freezing?"

Azusa shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He was only wearing a t-shire and a blue cardigan, hardly enough protection against the chill. "Just felt like it. I couldn't relax in my room."

Ema frowned worriedly. "If you get sick it will affect your work. You should go inside."

Azusa huffed and looked away. "I don't have any work that would have a problem with that."

Ame arched a single eyebrow at him, vaguely annoyed by the sulking and whining, especially after the conversation she and Ema had just had with Natsume, and she was unwilling to soften her words. "Aren't you in that new anime?"

There was a panicked squeak from Ema as she tried to shush her older sister while apologizing. Azusa started, and his eyes snapped around to stare them. "How did you-? Natsume told you, didn't he?" He sighed and went back to staring wearily at the ground. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm planning to turn down that role anyway."

The two sisters stared at him, one in surprise, and the other in annoyed disbelief. "…what?"

"You heard, didn't you?" He paced slowly in a short line, their eyes following him. "I can't do it. I can't do the role."

"And you're fine with that?" Azusa stared at Ema, whose eyes were narrowed and her lips pursed in a pout. "Even if it's for Tsubaki's sake, turning down a role for someone else-"

Azusa's brows furrowed, and he took a step forward. "Keep mouthing off and I'm going to get mad. That role belongs to Tsubaki."

In response, Ame stepped in front of her sister and glared back at him with enough animosity to frighten a bull. Azusa's eyes flickered uncertainly, surprised. Ema leaned out from behind her older sister. "But…you were the one who chosen, Azusa. You _must_ understand the significance of being chosen. Besides, I like your voice Azusa, so-"

"That's enough!" Azusa yelled. His voice was loud in the hush of the night. "No matter what anyone says, that's the one role I just can't do! I absolutely can't do it, so I'm turning it down. I won't do it! Besides, once I turn it down, the role will…"

"Will what?" Ame snapped, marching forward until she was almost nose to nose with Azusa. "Go to Tsubaki? Do you think he would be happy with getting a role that was given to him only because you turned it down?"

His face twisted into a snarl. "You don't know _anything_ about-!"

"I wouldn't be happy." The three of them turned to see Tsubaki standing outside the glass door, his hands in his pockets, and a smile on his face. It wasn't his usual, jovial expression, but it was a smile nonetheless. "I wouldn't have said it quite as firmly as Ame-chan, but I wouldn't be happy." Ame stepped back and relaxed, folding her arms across her chest as Azusa walked over to them, "Ah, and here I spent the whole night lying awake thinking about how to talk you into it. I was going to come out at the end and set you straight. It was going to be my moment in the spotlight, but you kind of stole that from me."

"Tsubaki, I…"

Tsubaki walked over to his brother until their faces were very close. "Azusa, do it for me," he said firmly. "I don't want it to be anyone else. I'm your number one fan in the whole world, so I want to hear you perform that role. Will you let me hear that role in your voice?"

Azusa stared at his brother for what felt like a long while, and then his eyes dropped. He nodded. "Alright, I'll do it."

Ame and Ema watched the sweet reconciliation. "They're pinky-swearing!" Ema hissed happily at her sister.

"Then go call your manager and set it up right away," Tsubaki smiled as their fingers disconnected. Azusa nodded and walked into the house.

Ame turned to her sister. "You should go inside Ema. You're going to catch a cold if you stay out any longer."

"What about you?"

"I want to talk to Tsubaki for a moment," Ame replied. Ema nodded and, pausing only to remove the beige scarf from around her neck and loop it around Ame's, followed Azusa into the house.

Tsubaki smirked at her and gestured with his thumb in the direction of a more secluded area. "Wanna keep me company for my consolation party?"

The two walked in silence, Tsubaki wrapped up in his thoughts. Once they reached the stretch of low fence, and the solitary park bench set underneath a single streetlamp, Tsubaki wandered over to the lamp and leaned against it while Ame perched on the relatively clean bench and stared up at him. "Are you alright?"

Tsubaki exhaled softly, staring up at the night sky. "Honestly? Not really. I'm still disappointed. I was the one who first wanted to be a voice actor, and I mostly dragged Azusa into it. I guess somewhere along the way he surpassed me." Ame eyes followed him as he kicked away from the lamp and swayed forwards. "It's always been that way, since we were kids. Azusa's always come out on top no matter what we did, even though we were supposed to have been born from the same egg. I know Azusa's the better actor, so they were probably right to decide the way they did. It's because of that…that I'm disappointed…"

His shoulders were shaking, maybe with repressed anger, or sadness, Ame wasn't sure. "Tsubaki, I don't…"

"That reminds me, I wanted to ask you something," he walked back to Ame until he was standing right in front of her. Ame stared up at him curiously. "Earlier Ema told Azusa she liked his voice. What about you? Whose voice do you like?"

"I like both of your voices," Ame replied, getting to her feet so that she was in a less vulnerable position. "I don't know much about voice acting, but I've always thought that you were both wonderfully talented. Things like this, acting, music, art, it's not about who's better than who, but who resonates with what. I believe that if something is meant for you, then it's yours. There are definitely roles that only you can play, because only you can make that character come alive. At least," Ame shrugged and folded her arms across her chest, looking off to the side, "that's just my opinion anyway-!"

In the next second, Tsubaki marched over to her, gripped her shoulders in both hands, and kissed the corner of her mouth. Ame squeaked in surprise, and leaned back to stare up at him. Tsubaki smirked down at her. "Sorry. But you know the best remedy for a depressed boy is a kiss from a pretty girl."

"I'm sure there's something about that girl not being your step-sister," Ame tried to take a step back, but his fingers tightened on her shoulders.

Tsubaki leaned in again, but he bypassed her lips this time for her ear. "By the way, and this has been bothering me for a while now, but isn't this scarf menswear? And the gloves," he pulled back and grabbed one of her hands, lifting them up. His eyes narrowed, "the designs are pretty in line with my tastes too…it kinda ticks me off…"

"Yes, well…" Ame trailed off, wondering if she should tell him that Natsume had given it to her and her sister. Natsume was one of the few brothers who hadn't made any real passes at her sister, and was therefore mostly spared from her innate wrath.

After scowling at her hands for a few more seconds, Tsubaki let her go. "Tomorrow, you should come out with me. You still owe me a date, remember?" He winked at her flirtatiously, and walked off.

Ame watched Tsubaki march off in the direction of the house, and then she wiped at the corner of her mouth. _Ask for my consent first, dammit._ This whole situation was getting out of hand if Tsubaki felt he could kiss her without asking. Maybe she was laying the sweet and innocent act on a bit thick.

"Oh my," a familiar voice startled her, causing her to nearly drop her lipbalm. "Does he not kiss like a prince, little sister?"

"Hikaru-san," Ame stared at the fashionably dressed man in surprise, and then arched an eyebrow. "Why were you lurking in the bushes like a well-dressed serial killer?"

Hikaru preened at the half-compliment. "I was just taking a walk around the area and what do I see by my little brother and new step-sister kissing under the lamplight. What a romantic scene, even if you are now siblings."

"Tsubaki-san kissed me, I didn't kiss him," Ame replied curtly, sliding her balm back into her bag and placing her hands on her hips. "How much do you know about this?"

"This event in particular?" Hikaru waved a manicured hand in the air, "or the general realisation that most of my brothers are crushing on you and their sister?"

"The second one."

"Enough, I suppose," he smirked and shrugged lazily. "It's quite interesting to watch all of them scramble after you, although from what I hear, Subaru's been a no-show lately. Anything to say about that?"

Ame stared at him silently, and then smiled her old, sweet, innocent smile. "No Hikaru-san, I have no idea why that might be."


	18. Ice Queen

**I decided to insert the Christmas OVA here because chronologically it just makes sense and also it's a good way of showing off Ame. I didn't want Yuusuke to be the first person this happened to but heck.**

 **Ice Queen  
**

Ame liked her job for the most part. The manager was fair enough, her co-workers were nice, and the pay was pretty good, and while yes they got the occasional pervert or high-maintenance customer, it was never too bad and the situation was usually resolved quickly either by a free coupon or the police.

So yes, Ame was happy she was working at the café, but she did wish the manager wasn't so foreign and so full of Christmas cheer, because it meant that the shop had to be decked to the nines with every bit of Christmas paraphernalia that could fit inside it. Stepping into the shop come December 5th was like walking into Santa's grotto. Tinsel and lights were draped across every conceivable surface, a huge tree stood in the corner saturated with bright baubles and a flashing star on the top. The bell that chimed to announce when someone stepped into the establishment now had the tasteful little addition of a sprig of fake mistletoe tied to it.

In addition to that, all the waitresses were required to wear either singing Santa hats, or reindeer antlers on headbands. Ame had gone with the less noisy choice.

Still because the manager was so traditional and so chock full of Christmas cheer, on the week of Christmas everyone was given time off to spend time with their own families. This would be their first Christmas together as a part of the Hinata, and either this would go well for Ema's sake, or heads would roll.

Ame stared down the snowy trail, her arms folded almost defensively across her chest. To her side, Ema was smiling and nodding seriously at whatever Yuusuke was saying while he tightened the straps on her snowboard. Something about raising her heels or whatever, Ame had stopped paying attention the third time he fumbled with the plastic clips just so he could kneel at Ema's feet a little longer.

It was Christmas Eve, and they would be spending the next few days at the expensive and expansive Naebi Ski Resort Hotel, which was a fairly split-second decision that had been made during last night's generous dinner.

During the feast Ame and Ema had cooked for dinner, Kaname had commented that it was a shame that Fuuto couldn't be around to celebrate the holidays with them because he would be performing live at a concert hall that was a part of the hotel. Between compliments about the roast beef, Masaomi had expressed his wish that Fuuto be with them that year, which had then led to several hurried phone calls and rushed reservations. Wataru wasn't allowed to come with them because he was too young, and Subaru was busy with basketball things. Ame really didn't care.

Finally Ame heard muffled click of Ema's straps finally sliding into place. "How's that feel? Is it too tight?"

"Well, it feels a little loose…" Ema knelt over to watch him closer. She looked especially sweet in her bright pink and white snow-jacket and matching pants. Her hair had been pulled into a low ponytail to accommodate the pink knitted hat. Ame's outfit was very similar, but blue instead of pink, and her hair had been tied into a long braid to keep it out of her face.

Ame eyed her own snowboard with veiled apprehension, and then stared wistfully in the direction of the warm café that was at the bottom of the mountain. Other than track, she didn't particularly enjoy sports, especially sports that took place on snowy inclines. Still, if Ema was up here, then so was she. Besides, they were still on the beginner's slope, and as long as no one tried to drag either of them any higher than the intermediate then she figured everything would be fine.

Suddenly a wave of snow came crashing against her legs, completely covering Yuusuke's face in white powder. Natsume slid to a smooth stop and lifted his goggles with a smirk. "Natsume-san!" Ema beamed at him. "That was so cool!"

"You three aren't sliding down yet?" He asked curiously.

"We're still preparing!" Yuusuke snapped.

"You're very good at snowboarding, Natsume-san," Ame observed with some admiration.

"You think so?" He glanced down at his feet as though surprised. "What I did just now was some basic gliding, and it's mostly self-taught."

"It's still really cool!" Ema insisted, oblivious to the way Yuusuke stiffened ever so slightly and began to pout at his older brother. Ame rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the other people on the slope. It was mostly little kids in colourful snow-clothes, their parents, and a few teenagers.

Natsume glanced down at their snowboards, and his brow furrowed into a frown. "Isn't this the first time either of you have gone snowboarding?" He asked. "I've heard that shorter boards are better for beginners."

"There's nothing like that," Yuusuke huffed, clipping his own board to his feet. "Besides, the shop was crowded, so I picked the best ones I could see."

Ame looked down at the board attached to Ema's feet with new worry just as someone glided to a stop behind her and wrapped their arms around her shoulders. "Is it alright to just go along with something Yuu-chan chose?" Kaname teased over the top of her head.

"You don't have the right to say that," Yuusuke scowled at his older brother. "We only decided to do this yesterday so we weren't able to prepare well. Talk about short notice."

Kaname's chuckles vibrated against Ame's back. She appreciated the extra bit of heat he provided, and dreamed once again of hot chocolate and whipped cream. "True, but I like to think that this is all fate," the older brother said, cuddling his little sister in a vaguely non-platonic manner. "We're all here, which is a sign of good luck."

"So is the quality of the snow also a sign of good luck?" Natsume mocked good-naturedly.

"Of course," Kaname replied with all the beatific certainty of the monk he was but rarely acted like. "We are currently enjoying good luck on these slopes. So, little sister," he squeezed Ame gently, dislodging her from her daydream – which had evolved into include freshly baked croissants and pumpkin-spiced lattes. "Let's go so I can teach you."

"What about Ema?" She asked.

"Natsume can teach her," he replied airily. "He's not easily distracted, and he's quite Spartan with his training."

Somehow that didn't reassure her, but she graciously allowed Kaname to lead her off. However she kept one eye on Ame at all times and was pleased to note that, while she did see her sister wipe out a few times, it was nothing severe and Natsume was always close by to make sure she was alright.

And then she saw Yuusuke march over to the two of them and decided that there had been enough arguing and pining over Ema's attentions for the day. She slid down the hill carefully, calling out to get her sister's attention. "Ema, where are you going?"

"Ame!" Ema's smile grew wider as she and Kaname got closer. "Yuusuke and I were going to the café! Do you want to come?"

"Yes!" Ame pretended not to see the disappointed expression on Yuusuke's face and laced their gloved fingers together. "It's so cold! I think there's snow in my jacket from all the times I fell over!"

"You didn't fall over that many times, Ame-chan," Kaname argued cheerfully, finding Yuusuke's disgruntled appearance amusing. "Why I'd even say you were a natural."

"That's sweet of you to say Kaname-san," she smiled at him, appreciating the compliment as best she could while standing in subzero temperatures. "Let's go get warm for a little while. Ema I'll buy you some soup."

Half an hour later the three of them were sitting around a small table, knees bumping together as they ate. Kaname had been called away by a phone call, leaving a half-empty plate of syrupy pancakes that the sisters happily shared between themselves in addition to their soups and sandwiches, all washed down with steaming cups of tea.

Yuusuke slurped his ramen, unable to keep up his bad mood when it was so good and warmed him from the inside. "It's so good!" He couldn't help exclaiming.

"Really?" Ema asked, smiling at his enthusiasm.

He nodded earnestly. "Do you want some? To warm you up?"

Ema shook her head. "I already have tea so I'm fine. It does look delicious though. Ame I'm surprised you didn't pick ramen."

"Ramen is comfort food you eat when you're at home in your comfy clothes with something on TV," Ame said with affected huffiness. "You know this Ema. That way if it splashes on you, you don't have to care."

"You only say that because you're a messy noodle eater."

"How dare you! I will not be called out like this by my own sister!" She smeared a streak of golden syrup on Ema's cheek and laughed when her younger sister attempted to lick it off. "You're going to hurt yourself. Here, use a napkin."

Yuusuke watched them interact quietly from across the table. "You guys are really close," he commented while Ema was wiping her face.

The girl blinked at him bemusedly. "Of course. Ame's my sister and she's always taken really good care of me. She and papa were the only family I had for a very long time. Until now of course!"

"Now we're all one _big_ happy family," Ame remarked dryly while thinking, _with pseudo-incestuous feelings_. She got to her feet, hooking her back over her shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Yuusuke watched Ame walk away and as soon as she was out of sight he seized his opportunity. "Hey," he said, catching Ema's attention. "Since you can slide for a little bit how about trying the more advanced course?"

Ema's brow furrowed slightly. "Oh, I'd like to but…"

He hurried to assuage her worries, wanting her to agree before Ame appeared and put a cork in his plans to get Ema alone and show her what a capable and dependable man he was. "It's okay! I'll be there to make sure you don't fall or get hurt!"

Nervousness and excitement flashed back and forth in her eyes before she finally shrugged and nodded. "Well, in that case…okay. Oh, we should ask Ame too!"

 _Damn!_ "Uh, how about we let Ame-chan rest?" Yuusuke said, trying to sound casual. "You saw her earlier, all cold and tired. In fact, let's keep it a secret! Won't it be cool to come back and tell her you completed an advanced level course? I bet she'd be really impressive."

A spark of jealousy flared in his chest at the way Ema's eyes brightened at the thought of impressing her big sister. God what was he _doing_ trying to date someone who was essentially his _sister_? Sometimes he considered trying to get over whatever complicated feelings he had for her but then he'd see the way his brothers interacted with her and anger would flare up in his gut. He'd had a crush on her _first_ dammit!

Ame's blue bag dropped onto the table as the girl sat down in her chair and arched an eyebrow at him. "Yuusuke you're making a strange face and now I'm curious about the conversation you were both having."

"Nothing! It was nothing!" He lied, badly.

She didn't look convinced. "Uh huh. Nothing. Right. Well I'm going to _pretend_ I believe you and hope that my soup didn't get too cold while I was gone."

"Ame," Ema scolded playfully. Then she turned and winked at Yuusuke just as playfully and he had to duck his head to hide his reaction to how cute she was. To be able to snowboard with her, all alone, did that mean that God was truly with him? "Ah, Hikaru-san!"

The man smirked at them, a glass of red wine in one hand. "Hi~!" He chirped.

Ame stared at the glass, unimpressed. "It's 3 in the afternoon," she pointed out.

"And somewhere in the world it's happy hour," he replied breezily and then he kicked Yuusuke's shin under the table. "Oi, are you imagining something strange again?"

His face flushed and he scowled at his older brother, hating his perceptiveness and casually manipulative nature. "Just shut up and leave us alone. Why are you here anyway?"

"As it turned out, I had no interest in snowboarding. My interests are…" he trailed off deliberately and smiled at the two girls who stared back at him, one in confusion and one with no expression at all. Hikaru's smile widened. "So, Ame-chan, Kaname tells me you're quite talented at this!"

 _Ugh, whatever_ , Yuusuke huffed as the conversation buzzed around him. No matter what the future held, he would strive to be the kind of man Ema deserved and loved, and clearly this ski lesson was the perfect way to do it. Nothing could possible go wrong.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The thing about claiming that _nothing can possibly go wrong_ is that by saying that you're essentially inviting every demon from all four corners of the earth to come and ruin literally everything.

What had started off as a gorgeous day skiing on a sunlit and snowy mountain had very quickly morphed into a grey hellscape as a heretofore unknown blizzard swept the snow into a mad frenzy. The roar of the wind drowned out his voice and Ema's and soon they lost sight of each other in the swirling snow.

Yuusuke cursed under his breath, trying to spot the pink windbreaker amidst all the grey and white. Then a scream rose up, high enough that he could hear it faintly over the howling. "Ema-chan!"

It couldn't be helped; he had to call for help, though he wasn't even sure there would be any signal. He groaned when his phone lit up to show a tiny x where the signal bars should have been. He couldn't carry Ema back, not all the way; the only thing he could do was snowboard back to the lodge and fetch one of his brothers. _As well as_ , he gulped, _as well as Ame_.

He found her and Kaname cooing at an incredibly round squirrel in a tree. Ame's face didn't change at all while he spoke. In fact it almost seemed that the more he talked the less emotion she showed until he finally finished the three sentence explanation and her expression was so empty that he almost wanted to turn around to take his chances with the blizzard.

Kaname instructed the two to wait behind in the lodge where it was safe. Yuusuke braced himself, expecting her anger. When it didn't come immediately he felt himself relax just a bit. Maybe Ame wasn't the angry sort. After all she was Ema's older sister, and Ema was the sweetest person he knew. She had to get that from _somewhere._

And that was when she punched him in the face.

Before he could even fall or move backwards more than a few steps Ame had grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close, staring him down with such cold rage that he _definitely_ wanted to take his chances with the blizzard. "You don't put my sister in harm's way ever again," she told him. "She was a _beginner_ and you took her to the _advanced course_. Did you think you were going to be her knight in shining armour? You got my sister hurt and if she gets ill or worse because of this, I will _end_ you."

He could only nod and she dropped him just as Kaname's form broke through the trees, Ema in his arms and barely cognizant. "I found her! I think she may be suffering mild hypothermia though, and her ankle might be sprained."

"Ema!" Her hands fussed over his sister, eyes wide and distressed and no trace of that cold-blooded demon from before. "We have to get her inside!"

Kaname nodded seriously. "My thoughts exactly. Yuusuke, go ask if there's a doctor nearby and-" Kaname frowned at his younger brother. "What happened to your face?"

Even though she wasn't looking at him, Yuusuke could feel Ame's icy glare and it chilled him to his bones. He swallowed, hard, and shrugged. "Nothing. I fell."


	19. Ice Cold

**Ame isn't a psychopath, just a very good planner and actress. We will address her emotional and co-dependency issues later.**

 **Ice Cold**

"Does it hurt when I do this?" Masaomi carefully manipulated Ema's ankle up and down, rotating it occasionally. He kept one eye on her face, gauging her reactions.

Ema winced minutely and then smiled bravely. "Only a little," she replied. The pain was negligible compared the shock of nearly freezing on a mountain. Even though she was warmer now that they were all inside the lodge, her body still trembled with little aftershocks.

The doctor nodded and after massaging her instep a little, he put her foot down. "I don't think anything is broken. It looks like you just have a light sprain. The pain should disappear in a few days as long as you're careful," he smiled at her. "That means plenty of rest and no hard exercise."

Ema giggled. "I'm not the active one. Thank you Masaomi- san. Thank you Kaname-san," she turned to the other brother with a smile that dimmed at the sad look in his eyes. "Kaname-san?"

He blinked, coming out of whatever depressing thoughts he'd been having, and managed a small smile. "Ah, I just don't want to see any misfortune befall my family."

Both sisters wondered what he meant by that, but were pulled out of their musings by Yuusuke. The redhead leaned forward and bowed so low it was as though he wanted to dig himself into the hotel floor. "I'm so sorry! This all happened because of me!"

Ema smiled, lovely and forgiving young lady that she was. "It's not Yuusuke's fault-"

Ame interrupted her bluntly. "It was. Let him apologise and then you can forgive him." She eyed Yuusuke with a cold expression that transformed into a look of girlishly wide-eyed worry the moment Masaomi turned to look at her. "I was so worried about you!"

He smiled at her and went back to massaging Ema's ankle but Natsume looked between the three of them, sensing that something was off. Where had that bruise on Yuusuke's face come from anyway?

"At any rate, Ema-chan we need to move you to your room," Masaomi lowered her foot and turned to the brothers. "Natsume, can you help? Yuusuke, can you call room service and order some hot cocoa?"

The aura that something wasn't quite right persisted until Yuusuke disappeared around the corner and Natsume caught the subtle loosening of tension in Ame's shoulders that he hadn't noticed before. As he stared at her, she pushed a strand off her behind her ear and he saw her bruised knuckles.

He stiffened and, as though she'd caught the movement, her eyes snapped to his and stared him dead in the eye. Natsume stared back, unsure of what to do. There was no fear in her eyes, not a hint of surprise or even guilt.

"Natsume?" He jerked and broke eye contact to stare at Masaomi who was frowning down at him. "We should get Ema to her room as quickly as possible. You take her shoulders and I'll carry her feet."

When he looked back at Ame she was staring at him looking completely innocent, even a little hurt. For a moment he couldn't understand why until Ema frowned at him and asked accusingly, "Natsume, why are you looking at Ame-chan like that?" and he realised that he was glaring at her.

He shook his head and snuck one last glance at Ame. "I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought." Carefully so as not to hurt Ema, he and Masaomi carried their injured sister to the elevator and punched in the floor their rooms were on.

Ame trailed behind them, clicking her bright blue nails against the plastic of her colourful phone case. She allowed them to put Ema to bed before taking a seat at her younger sister's feet. She watched Natsume eye her even as he left the room and then turned to watch Masaomi take a seat at Ema's bedside.

"I'm sorry that this happened," he frowned, looking quite despondent. The glow from the low lighting made him look younger.

Ema smiled sweetly. "It's okay. It was just an accident. I'm just happy Kaname-san was there to help."

"Kaname is pretty cool, isn't he?" Masaomi chuckled. "He may seem scatterbrained, but he's actually very reliable. Helping a person in that kind of situation, I don't think I'd be brave enough to do that."

Ema frowned and pursed her lips. "Even though I don't think I can say it properly," she began, "I think you have a special personality that can lead other people. Even just by you being here, I feel calm. Whenever we're all eating at the dining table, everyone always asks _'where is Masa-nii?'_ That's why, if I had to make a comparison, Masaomi-san is like a roof. We may not realise that a roof is important, but it's always there to protect everyone from sunlight and rain. It reassures people just by being there."

All the while she had been talking, Masaomi had felt his heart begin to thump harder and harder. His face broke out into a smile. "I'm…I'm happy. I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you!"

"It's the truth," Ema replied.

They both smiled at each other, sharing a moment. "That reminds me, the onsen in this hotel has an indoor bath. If you're feeling better later you should go and try it out. It's already been reserved for the family. Also it's better if you don't attend Fuuto's live concert. It would be bad to push yourself."

"Yes Masaomi-san," Ema pouted, looking a bit down about having to miss the show but ultimately too tired to feel too bad about it.

"Then have a good rest," he turned to Ame who had been silent the whole time apart from the near-silent _tap-tap-tap_ of her fingers against the screen of her phone. "Ame-chan are you going to come to the show?"

She blinked at him for a second, and then shook her head. "No, I'll stay with Ema."

Masaomi didn't see the point of that considering that Ema would likely be asleep due to the painkillers she'd taken, but he could understand her not wanting to go out and have fun after her sister had gotten lost in a blizzard, suffered from mild hypothermia and currently had a sprained ankle. "Oh. Alright. I'll let the others know."

With a parting smile, Masaomi left the room. Ame remained in the same spot, still tapping away at her phone and listening to the whispering going on outside their door that soon lessened and disappeared. Eventually she put her smartphone away with a quiet sigh and carefully slunk up the bed to lie next to her sister.

Ema stared at her silently for a long moment. "You hurt Yuusuke."

It was an accusation and not a question. "He almost got you killed," Ame said calmly.

"I wasn't going to die-"

"Because Kaname found you before the cold caused your heart to stop. Look at you Ema, you drank two cups of hot chocolate – one of them with melted mini marshmallows – and yet your lips are still a little bit blue!"

Ema pressed her lips together, both to hide them but also out of some mild frustration. She tried a different approach even though she knew it wouldn't make any difference. "You know he didn't mean for any of that to happen."

"Then that makes it worse and he can consider it punishment for not thinking ahead," Ame rolled her eyes. "You're a beginner and he took you to an advanced course just because he wanted to impress you!"

Ema covered her eyes with a groan. "He didn't want to impress me! I wanted to do it so I could show you! I wanted to impress _you!_ "

If she had been looking, she would have seen her sister's eyes softened. "Oh Ema-chan, Chii-chan, you don't have to impress me. You _always_ impress me. You're my _sister_ and that means I will always be protective of you. Even if the snowstorm hadn't hit anything could have happened to you! You could have fallen and hurt yourself!"

"Ame…"

A hand that smelled like vanilla and marshmallows covered her mouth. "Just let me be overprotective and angry on your behalf since you don't seem to have a single vengeful bone in your body, alright? Now go to sleep."

Ema huffed but burrowed herself into her duvet. "You should have gone to the concert," she grumbled but she was asleep before she could hear Ame's response.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Ema awoke an hour later feeling refreshed. Her body was no longer wracked by odd tremors and the pain in her ankle had lessened to a dull ache. Ame lay beside her, her hair fanned out behind her in tangles despite the braid holding the strands in place. Light sleeper that she was, Ame snuffled and woke up as soon as Ema started moving. "Wha-?"

"I'm feeling better," Ema whispered, giggling at her sister's bleary expression. "Should we try the onsen?"

"Yeah. Yeah sure, let me just find my bathing stuff."

The indoor onsen was set in a moderately sized room, tastefully decorated with minimalist paintings. The bath itself took up more than half of the room. There was a little section in one corner were you could change unseen, and a set of three showers.

Ema stripped and showered for a few seconds before hopping into the bath. She sighed contentedly, enjoying the steam and the hot water soaking into her muscles that were worn from the skiing they had done earlier. "I wonder if Fuuto's live show is going well," she mused aloud.

"It probably is," Ame said from behind the partition. She was struggling to re-braid her hair and was considering just leaving it and wrapping a towel around it like Ema had. Still her hair was longer than her sister's and she didn't want to leave strands in the bath for the next guests.

That was when she heard the door to the bath open and shut. Ame froze, her mind whirring. Who was that? Masaomi had _said_ that he had been booked the bath for the whole family, so which brother was that?

She grabbed a towel and peered out from behind the wall to see someone tall and a flash of red hair. Hikaru. She frowned, unsure what other emotion to reach for other than worry. Hikaru had never seemed unduly interested in flirting with Ema, but he'd never felt completely safe either. She also suspected that he was aware of Ame's duality but if he was he had never felt the need to tell anyone.

Ame thought for a second and grabbed her phone. A moment later she walked over to her sister at the same time that Hikaru stepped out of the shower.

He smiled at them and Ame noticed that he was still wearing lipstick. Whatever it was, it hadn't come off despite all the water. She made a mental note to ask him for details. "Good evening little sisters," he said to them as though it was perfectly natural to walk in on two girls in the bath.

"Hikaru-san," Ame greeted shortly. She handed the towel she was holding to Ema and glared at Hikaru as her sister hurried to wrap it around herself. Without taking her eyes off of him she asked her, "Ema, are you done with your bath?"

"Yes," Ema answered in a small voice, her face bright red and her eyes downcast.

Ame nodded. "Go change. I'll meet up with you in a moment."

Ema slunk past her, shooting her sister a worried look that did nothing to dissuade her. She could see the miserable tilt of Ema's lips and how pink her face was. Her younger sister's privacy had been breached, and by a man they barely knew abusing his position in her life.

The moment the door shut behind her, Hikaru cocked his head with mock curiousity. "You're not done with your bath?"

Ame sighed. "I don't understand you."

"Understandable. I've been told I'm quite mysterious," Hikaru preened.

"No. As in, I don't understand why you wanted to play this game," Ame replied. "You _know_ what I'm doing and you know _why_. Yet here you are. What I don't understand is _why_."

Hikaru shrugged. "I thought it would be interesting. I was curious to see what you would do. I know you're the reason Subaru doesn't come home until late, and that you're the reason he hates Natsume even more than before. You are a pretty little snake in the grass, aren't you?"

"And you've decided that the best way to get my attention was to stomp all over where I rest?" Ame arched an eyebrow. Then she sighed and shook her head. "Fine then. I can't forgive you nor excuse this so check your phone in about ten minutes. Maybe that'll cure you of your curiousity. And if I ever catch you doing anything like this, the consequences will be dire."

Hikaru slid into the water and sighed. A large grin broke across his face. Minutes passed and he heard his phone chirp. He reached out and grabbed it, careful to hold it firmly and above the water as he unlocked it. The grin dropped from his face.

There, on the screen, was a side picture of him naked. His face was clearly visible in the mocking smirk he had worn when he'd walked in and seen Ema bathing alone.

Above the image were the words _Renowned Journalist a Fraud?_ In large black print. Though the article was clearly fake and made on one of those online news generators, the threat was clear.

Despite the low thrum of panic, Hikaru couldn't help laughing. God what had they brought into thei family?

 **I don't dislike Hikaru nor do I think he is a predator, but he did act pretty creepy in the OVA and walking in on your sister while she is naked in the bath is very,** _ **very**_ **weird. In that instance he was abusing his position as her stepbrother and deliberately ignoring the fact that he is more or less a stranger to her (he doesn't live with the family) and ignoring her privacy and emotions by claiming that it wasn't weird for them to be naked together because they were siblings.**


	20. Sister Complex

**Sister Complex**

Ame walked away from the bathroom feeling annoyed that she hadn't even gotten to bathe. Stupid Hikaru and his stupid mind games, she thought to herself with a disgruntled scowl. Her fingers tapped out a rhythm on the cyan blue shell of her phone-case. There was no doubt in her mind that she could and would ruin his career if he tried anything with her sister. Even if the blow wasn't as devastating as that it would, at least the very least, severely ruin his credibility as a journalist.

The woman ran a hand through her thick hair and began braiding it quickly as she made her way down the corridor and back towards the bedroom. As Ame turned the corner that led to an elevator, she looked up to see if Ema had already gone down or if she was still standing by the glass windows. Instead she found herself staring into a pair of bright brown eyes above an unsettlingly pleased grin. "Big sister! You're here!"

Ame sighed and walked past the younger boy. "Hello Fuuto," she spoke over her shoulder. "I guess your show's finished now?"

"And Ame-nee didn't even come to see me perform," he pouted and fluttered his – admittedly very nice – eyelashes at her. Fuuto trailed after her, staying just behind her and taking that moment to eye her from the top of her messy braid to the bones of her delicate white ankles. Her legs were slender, he noted, and they would look great wrapped around his wa-

"I would have." Ame spoke, inadvertently interrupting wherever his thoughts had been going. In all honesty, she really would have gone for Fuuto's show. Sure the kid might give her the creeps but family support was important and it wasn't like he was a bad singer. "But Ema had to stay in bed so I decided to stay with her. Sorry."

Fuuto shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "No, it's that idiot's fault. It's just a pity, big sister. I really wanted you to see me perform live."

They had reached the glass elevator now and he took that as an opportunity to step up behind her. Ame noticed with a feeling of horror that Fuuto was growing _taller_. When she and Ema had met him the fifteen year old had only been a few inches taller than Ame, however now he seemed to have grown even more.

Ame shuddered at the thoughts in her mind. Fuuto noticed and sidled closer to her. "Are you cold, big sister?"

She sighed and eyed him over her shoulder. "You know, that question might have been almost sweet if it weren't coming from you."

He placed a hand on his chest and let his eyes droop in a dramatic display of sadness. "That hurts big sister. I'm just being a loving little brother! In fact, I think…" he leaned forward and forced her into the glass elevator, pushing her against the ice-cold glass. He was so close she could smell the bubblegum he had been chewing and the faint hint of hairspray. There was still glitter under his eye from the show. "I think you should reward me…"

Ame regarded him coolly. "Reward you?" She echoed disbelievingly.

Fuuto nodded, his fingers dancing up and down her back but never straying anywhere too indecent. To her credit Ame continued to look completely unbothered and the challenge of breaking down that impassive expression was an attractive prospect to the young man. With a smirk, Fuuto planted one hand on the glass behind her. "I'm pretty strong aren't I?" He bragged. "After all, if I'm going to be an actor I need this much strength. You know big sister, I bet I could hold you down and-"

 _Click. Click._

Both of them started and their heads snapped in the direction of the source of the sound. They saw Natsume in the elevator opposite their own, his phone – the source of the comically loud noise – in one hand. He smiled sweetly at them when Fuuto shoved himself away and stormed back into the hallway.

"My, oh my, what a scene!" He trilled, pretending to be utterly invested in his phone. "This is a pretty big scoop, isn't it? What _will_ your fans say about this?"

Fuuto scowled at the older boy, hunching his shoulders and back to make himself look more threatening. "What do you plan on doing with that?"

Hikaru shrugged like it didn't matter, "oh I'll probably sell it to some gossip magazine or something. After your live-show tonight someone would pay good money for this."

"Don't fuck with me-!"

"No," Ame said in a hard voice, cutting through the argument. She was tired and oh so done with the boys. Ame stared the older brother down with eyes like granite. "Don't fuck with _me_. Delete the photo Hikaru."

He sniffed at her, looking down at the much shorter girl. Hikaru couldn't deny that Ame was dangerous but damn was that danger and moral ambiguity sexy. "Or what?" He flirted, ignoring the dawning look of realisation on Fuuto's face that was very quickly followed by fury. "We're at an impasse, little sister. If you delete yours, I'll delete mine."

Ame gave him the scathing sort of look you tended to give to the oblivious or the stupid. "No we're not? Are you grasping at straws or were you trying to defend me? I do not need your help to defend myself. Since this seems to be hard for you to understand, I'll say it again: don't touch my sister and I won't have to do anything too uncomfortable." With that she flipped her hair and spun around, heading back for the elevator.

Then she heard Hikaru's muffled laughter. "You-You think this is about Ema-chan?"

Ame turned to stare at him warily. "Everything is about Ema-chan," she said with a frown that grew more pronounced when Hikaru's snickers grew louder. Even Fuuto was staring at her with a strange look on his face? "What?"

Her younger stepbrother rolled his eyes and glared off to the side. Hikaru stopped giggling and pretended to wipe a stray tear from his eye. "Little sister you are very scary, but so oblivious. We like _you_ , not Ema-chan."

The girl stared at them silently as her brain made several very fast calculations and rerouted itself to a new conclusion. Then finally she said, "Ah." Then she went, "I have no idea how to respond to that."

"What do you mean you don't know how to respond?" Fuuto stormed over to her. He stopped when Hikaru grabbed the back of his jacket and turned to scowl at his brother.

Ame shrugged blithely even though on the inside her mind was still going a hundred miles an hour. She needed to think, needed to sort through past interactions and edit her plan a little. "I don't get that many confessions. Not to mention you're both my stepbrothers. This is fairly new territory that I'm not all that interested in exploring. Oh look! The fireworks will be starting soon!"

She jumped into the elevator and pressed the down button. The door slid shut before either of them could enter and began to descend to the ground floor. The downward motion wasn't helping Ame's stomach at all; in fact it just made her feel worse. They liked her? That wasn't part of the plan! Fuuto and Hikaru were supposed to be _scared_ of her like Subaru was!

Ame pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. Ugh, why? She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she didn't get a lot of confessions, but that was for the same reason _Ema_ didn't get a lot of confessions.

You see, as the girls had grown older and the bullies bolder, Ame had upped the ante on her choices of appropriate retribution. By the time Ema was fourteen all the boys and girls had heard the rumours that followed Ema's older sister around.

 _Did you see, did you see? Ame-san got a teacher fired!_

 _Did you know, did you know? Ame-san got that girl expelled!_

 _Did you hear, did you hear? Ame-san runs a gang!_

 _Stay away, stay away! Ame-san controls the local police!_

To be fair, at least two of the aforementioned rumours were actually true.

The elevator glided to a stop and Ame decided to put it out of her head at least for the moment. As she stepped out of the building and headed towards the large snow-covered Christmas tree, a bright orange Catherine's Wheel exploded into sparks in the semi-darkness. People began whistling and applauding as more fireworks began shooting into the sky.

"Ame! Ame over here!"

"There you are!" She walked over to her sister, her bad mood dissipating almost entirely at the sight of her bright smile. "Did you dry off properly? Are you cold at all?"

"We found you~!" Kaname came over, followed closely by Masaomi, Natsume and Yuusuke. Ema waved at them cheerfully and Kaname looked her over with a concerned smile. "Should you be out walking? Do you still feel any pain?"

Ema laughed. "You all fuss over me so much! I'm fine!"

Yuusuke grinned although it froze on his face when he saw Ame arching an eyebrow at him over Ema's shoulder. "I-I'm glad you're feeling better!"

"Don't you have anything else to say?" Fuuto strolled over, followed by Hikaru who smiled and waved an Ame when the girl scowled. "Since all your fault, how about you actually take some responsibility? Right, big sister?" He cuddled up to Ame who planted a hand on his chest and forcibly placed some space between them.

"Watch it kid."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Do you only see me as a child, big sister?"

"You are a child!" Yuusuke jeered at him. Fuuto snarled at him and took a step forward like he was about to physically fight the redhead.

Luckily Kaname got between them. "Now, now, calm down!" He said in a pacifying tone. "It's Christmas after all. Besides, Ame-chan and Ema-chan see us as her loving brothers, don't you?"

"Of course!" Ema chirped, clearly not feeling any of the tension. Sometimes Ame wished she could be just as oblivious.

A firework exploded overhead, bathing them in magenta light. Ame sighed to herself as she watched the sparkles flicker and die before being replaced by more. She had some things to think about before the New Year.

 **I would like us all to remember that Ame is not a bad person, just someone with her own personal brand of justice. And yeah she is super possessive of Ema. Not in a creepy way, more like the way some people are possessive of their friends. You know when you have a BFF and one day they introduce you to someone else that they met like at camp or at church and you're like "NO U CAN'T DO THAT YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND"**


	21. Cherry Blossoms

**Cherry Blossoms**

Ame stared down at her phone screen, her mind a few miles away. She was on break at work, and going through the most recent text that she had received from Ema only a few seconds ago.

 _There are no ingredients for dinner so Wataru suggested we take a picnic and go flower viewing! Tsubaka-san said he'd invite Natsume-san and Subaru-san along too, so as soon as you're done with work come join us!_

 _Ugh_ , Ame clicked her tongue with irritation. If only she'd remembered to get food supplies yesterday but she had been so busy with schoolwork, and Ukyo-san was also busy with a case, and apparently no one else was capable of going food shopping. Narrowing her eyes a little, Ame tapped out a reply with robotic fingers and then spent a few seconds flipping her phone's chain up and down until a co-worker came over.

"What's with you?" Sora asked, snapping a damp rag an inch from her unresponsive face. That at least jerked Ame from her thoughts and she blinked bemusedly at older woman. Unconvinced, Sora arched a perfectly sculpted and pierced eyebrow back. "You've been glaring at your phone for over ten minutes. Who's annoyed you now?"

Ame sighed quietly and slid her phone into her apron pocket. "Nothing really. Ema and the guys wanted to go flower viewing, so I'm going to join them once my shift ends."

"And that's why you've been staring into space like you're plotting murder?" Both of Sora's eyebrows flattened in curiousity. "The flowers are super pretty right now aren't they? I'm planning on seeing them with my girlfriend tomorrow." Sora's eyes briefly glazed over as she thought of her girlfriend and then she cocked her head at Ame. "So what's the problem? Do you dislike them or something?"

The bell chimed softly, indicating a new customer but neither woman moved to serve them. Ame eventually huffed out a quiet laugh and looked away. "You're way too perceptive, Sora-san. Hate is a very strong word though. No I like to think that I'm just…wary of them. I don't like leaving my little sister alone with a bunch of boys."

"Oh no sweetheart, I've seen this before," Sora leaned on the counter beside Ame and adopted a motherly tone despite them only being two years apart. "You get like this every time your sister meets a boy or makes a new friend. Are you scared that they're going to flirt with her or be mean to her or something?"

Ame smiled grimly. "Or something."

"You just want to protect her, I get it. You've always just wanted to protect Ema-chan, but maybe you need to let your sister make her own decisions and choices, good or bad."

There was silence between them, expectant on one side and contemplative on the other. From the front of the little café came another chime from the door, followed by another server calling out the standard welcome and the sound of a little kid giggling over the cake choices.

Ame stared at Sora silently for a few seconds until her phone buzzed an alarm. "Oh, would you look at that," she remarked in a mild tone, breaking eye contact to look down at the screen that she had never let go of even while it was in her apron, "my shift is over. I'll see you later Sora-san."

The other woman sighed to herself as the brunette made her way to the back of the café where the changing rooms were, pausing to punch herself out with one hand and tap out a text with the other. As capable as Ame was, the woman didn't like to ask for help or request the opinions of others. She ploughed ahead with plans and schemes, regardless of who she had to knock over in the process. Being close to her was both a blessing and a curse because it meant that she would topple kingdoms for you if you whether you asked her to or not.

Sora said a little prayer for her co-worker and _kouhai_ , and then she made her way over the front of the shop, calling out a cheerful, "Welcome!"

oOo

As Ame walked to the park, she thought about her family and what she was willing to do to keep it safe. Even though it was no longer winter, the early spring air still carried with it a chill that stung the inside and outside of her nose and she pulled her scarf higher up her face to block the sharp wind.

Ever since that night when Hikaru and Fuuto had confessed – well, not quite, a confession required that the revelation be a desperate secret – that they were attracted to her and not Ema, Ame had been mentally going over every interaction she'd had with them. It made sense now but at the time she had attributed their mannerisms to their respective traits. Hikaru liked to tease people and Fuuto…well, Fuuto was Fuuto. Puberty probably hit him too hard.

She stopped and shook her head and someone walked into her, almost knocking their bag from their hands. "Hey!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to – Ame-chan?" He blurted her name, equally as surprised as she was. Ame spotted the sliver of fear that flashed across his eyes before he straightened his back and took a small step away. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she replied coolly. "Were you going to the picnic?"

"Yeah. My practice just ended," he scuffed the soles of his shoes against the ground and Ame realised that he must have come straight from the basketball court. Even though he had changed he still smelled faintly of sweat and she resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose.

"Okay," she spun around and kept walking. After a moment she heard him follow, keeping at least a foot behind her.

They walked in silence for a block or so before Subaru finally spoke. Ame had been expecting him to. Their last conversation had not been pleasant after all, and it had ended with her getting the last word. Most men couldn't handle that.

"I still like Ema-chan."

Ame didn't bother looking at him and instead pretended to focus on the pretty streetlights. "Do you?"

"I definitely do!" He snapped back, a little louder than the place or situation warranted. "You can't ruin my feelings for her by threatening me!"

She laughed a little and shot him a smirk over her shoulder. "You only say that because you think my threats are empty. Believe me, I am very capable." She ignored his gape-mouthed expression of anger and caught sight of something more important. "Now hush, I see my sister. Ema, over here!"

"Ame, you made it!" The two sisters hugged tightly. "And Subaru-kun, hi!" Ema waved at him over Ame's shoulders and noticed his stiff expression and tight fists. She glanced at her sister briefly and wondered if she ought to have another talk with Ame about her methods.

"So where are you going?" Ame asked, understanding Ema's glance and wanting to change the subject. "I thought you were at the park?"

"We ran out of soda so I volunteered to go get some," Ema told her. "Want to come with me? I might need help carrying all the bottles."

A few minutes later the three of them were on their way back to the park, all weighed down with bottles of lemon and orange soda and cola. "I can't believe you left Juli at home," Ame chuckled.

"He wasn't feeling well," Ema laughed, remembering the sweaty, limp clump of fur that had tried to climb into her backpack that evening. "I left him with all his favourite foods."

"I bet he'll still complain when we get home." The park came into view and Ame couldn't help ooh-ing over how pretty the flowers and lights looked even from a distance. Wataru was the first to spot them and came sprinting over, nearly trampling two other picnics in the process.

"Big sister! Big sister! Big siste- _oomf!_ " He smacked into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and nearly knocking the bags from her hand. There was a blinding grin on his face when he pulled back to look up at her. "You're here! I thought you were going to miss the flower viewing!"

Ame softened. She loved Wataru; so far he was the only brother who seemed to treat them like actual siblings. Well, him and Masaomi. Ame suspected that it was just the age difference – Wataru was barely in the double-digits and Masaomi was in his thirties. "I would never miss that. It's our _hanami_ as a family!"

"It is, isn't it?" Ema looked so pleased by that. She liked little milestones like that. If she wasn't already obsessed with video-games Ame suspected she'd be one of those people who had scrapbooks for everything. "Ame, you and Subaru haven't eaten anything!"

The blanket was almost too small to hold all of them but with a little wriggling everyone managed to fit. Ame ended up squished next to Tsubaki who was more than a little drunk judging by the smell of alcohol and the flush on his cheeks.

"Ame-chan~!" He sang when she sat down. "You're here~!"

She and Azusa shared a commiserating look over his head. "I think you've had enough _sake_ ," he muttered, moving the half-empty bottle further away from his brother.

Tsubaki barely noticed himself being cut off and instead leaned closer to the girl beside him. "Hey Ame-chan," he tried to whisper but, like most drunk people, his voice came out a little too loud, "is it just a coincidence that the two of you arrived with Subaru? What happened~?"

Subaru scoffed. "Obviously it's just a coincidence."

"Oooh, defensive~!" Tsubaki cackled, throwing an arm around Ame's shoulders and leaning closer. She leaned away and shot Azusa a look that clearly said _help me!_ He was already looking at them though and there was something a little tense around his shoulders.

Ame huffed and pretended to look around the park, casually shrugging off Tsubaki's arm in the process. She spotted Wataru leaning over the fence that separated the park from the lake waters. He had a stick in his hand and he was using it to tease one of the ducks that had wandered close by in the hope of some crumbs from the numerous humans. "That's dangerous! He looks like he might fall in," she said worriedly.

"I'll get him!" Natsume got up and started running towards Wataru, however several things happened at the same time.

The duck, likely tired of Wataru's shenanigans, quacked loudly while flapping it's large wings and rearing backwards. Wataru, who had been balanced precariously over the fence on his stomach, fell _backwards_ onto the ground instead of toppling headfirst into the water. However Natsume, who had been close to him, _tripped_ over Wataru and fell into the shallow water.

This all happened within the space of a few seconds and Ame wished she had been filming the whole thing.

"Oh no," Tsubaki pretended to wail between bouts of cackling, "Natsume fell into the lake! I'll save you brother!"

Masaomi rolled his eyes. "Tsubaki, be serious."

"I am!" Tsubaki pretended to wipe his eyes before walking over and pulling Natsume out of the lake. "Aw, Na-kun is all wet!"

Wataru, who had no clue what had happened, blinked at his older brothers curiously. "Why did Natsume-nii fall into the lake?"

"Because he likes to swim," Tsubaki said with all the seriousness he could muster. Ame giggled behind her hands and the sound made him puff up a little. He had made her laugh!

"Really?" Wataru asked.

"Really! See?" With that he let go of Natsume's hand, letting the other slip on the slippery-wet mud and go sprawling back into the freezing cold lake.

"Tsubaki!" Masaomi and Azusa barked.

"Jeez, fine! It was just a joke!" After several more heaves they managed to get Natsume out of the water and Ema set about fussing over him, patting his face dry with her little white handkerchief with the pink embroidery.

"I'm sorry, it won't help much," she murmured. "We should go home and get you into something warm."

"It's fine. Thanks," he replied. Then, "was it really a coincidence?"

"Hm?" Ema stopped dabbing at him.

"Meeting Subaru like that," he said. "Was Ame-chan with you the whole way?"

Ema wondered why he was so fixated on that. "It was just a simple coincidence," she answered, "Ame was with Subaru before I found them."

She didn't see Tsubaki and Azusa stiffen. The two turned to stare at Subaru with expressions that weren't quite friendly. As Subaru took a step away from his brothers, he lamented their decision to bring the two sisters into the house.

 **I can't lie I'm missing Kaname and Ukyo? I do love writing for Fuuto idk why. Scenes I can't wait to write:**

 **Subaru confessing to Ema after his basketball game**

 **Every instance of Fuuto in school**

 **That time during the holiday when Fuuto snuck into Ema's room like a creep to do god knows what to her while she was asleep like my dude come the fuck on**

 **When Ema discovers that she's adopted**


	22. A New Chapter

**A New Chapter**

Ame idly flipped through the basketball magazine Subaru had left on the coffee-table upstairs, pausing when she reached a certain article. It wasn't much, just a sentence or two between a prediction of future games and an advert for an alarmingly blue sports drink, but it was interesting to see.

"What are you reading?" Ema mumbled around a yawn. Her hair was tied up in a towel but a few stray droplets of water slid down her face and dampened the collar of her pyjamas.

"Nothing, just looking at this magazine," Ame put it away and shifted so that her sister could get on the bed. Even though they both had their own rooms and neither of them had beds big enough for two people, they almost always ended up falling asleep in the same room. "Are you excited for school tomorrow?"

"So excited!" Ema whisper-yelled, throwing her arms in the air and flopping backwards with such force that Juli bounced several inches into the air. Luckily the squirrel was fast asleep and only muttered something in his sleep before curling up again. The two girls giggled to each other. "What about you? Are you excited to start your assistant position?"

Ame rolled her eyes and pulled Ema up again. "Your hair is going to end up in mad tangles if you don't brush and braid it tonight. And I told you, it's not an assistant position, it's just something I have to do for my psychology class."

"Yeah, yeah," Ema hummed, leaning back into her sister's cold hands as she combed the damp strands with her electric hairbrush. Ame was the best with hair and sometimes Ema wished she had copied the older girl when she was going through her Rapunzel phase. Louis was good with hair too, Ema ceded, but then he was a hairdresser. It was his profession.

Her thoughts drifted a little more and she found herself giggling. "What? What is so funny that you are literally flirting with 2nd degree burns?" Ame waved the hot, electric brush in front of her quite pointedly.

"Nothing, I'm just remembering that time you thought onion-water and raw eggs were a viable hair-care treatment," Ema burst into cackles before she even finished speaking. "No one could go near you for a week!"

"Shut up, it worked!" Ame mock-scowled and flicked her hair, a move which might have looked cool had she not tied it up into a bun earlier. "Oh stop laughing!" She pushed her sister over and started poking her all over. "You know what my hair looks like! You know it looks good! Say it!"

"Never!" Ema gasped out between laughter. "Nooo, stop! I'm ticklish! I'll die!"

"Then perish! Rah!" Ame gleefully wormed her fingers into Ema's armpits and wriggled them pitilessly. "However I will have mercy. Only because I love you and we are making so much noise right now."

Ema rolled over, gasping between chuckles. "I'm saved!" They lay there for a moment, calming down and basking in the comfortable atmosphere that got a lot less comfortable when Ema propped herself up on her side and said, "so…how is Subaru?"

"Ema…" Ame got off the bed and pretended to be busy looking for something on her dressing table.

Ema sat up on the bed, refusing to drop it. "You hate sports, Ame. You would literally rather watch paint dry, so what's going on? Why have you been giving the boys such a hard time?"

"Hey," she turned around, a little stung and very defensive, "I'm not giving all of them a hard time, just the ones who deserve it. I haven't done anything to the twins, or Kaname-nii, or Ukyo-nii, or Louis-nii…"

"Okay, maybe, but you've been acting really weird around Subaru-nii and now he barely comes home!" Ema watched her sister give up on the dressing table and go over to her closer where she could be out of sight. Unwilling to grant her that defence, Ema followed her and leaned against the wall, "Mai-chan…talk to me…"

Ame made a noise that was somewhere between a whine and a discontented growl. "That's cheating; you can't use that nickname and puppy eyes!"

"Mai-chaaaan…"

"Ugh, whatever," she slammed her wardrobe shut and leaned against it so the two sisters were looking at each other. "I just want to keep you safe, okay? And they're _not safe_ Emma. Hikaru-nii is constantly scheming, Fuuto is dangerous, and Subaru has underlying anger issues. You want brothers, not boyfriends, and I am what's stopping them from going further.""

"You don't know that."

"I _do_ know that. You can't talk me out of this Ema," she walked past her sister and went back to the bed, cursing when she spotted the still-switched on brush lying on her sheets. Ame quickly unplugged it and inspected the bed for marks.

She could hear Ema pacing behind her. "Wait…is _that_ why you decided to do your project at school?" Her voice rose in angry realisation that only grew the longer her sister kept quiet. "Ame!"

Annoyed and feeling catty in a way she almost never felt towards her sister, Ame scoffed and tossed over her shoulder, "You know, if you could raise your voice like that whenever they tried to touch you, maybe I wouldn't have to do any of this."

"You know what? Fine! I'll sleep in my own room tonight!"

"Don't forget Juli!" Ame called back. She didn't lift her head when Ema marched over to the bed and then stormed out of the room. She didn't flinch when the door shut, though the click of the lock felt louder than Ema's raised voice. After a long moment of silence she finally sighed and ran a hand over the small brown mark burned onto the blue bedsheets.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The next morning Ame woke up early to prepare lunchboxes. Feeling guilty, she added a few extra snacks to Ema's along with the word _sorry_ in ketchup painted over the rice. Although she didn't see Ema that morning, the lunchbox was gone by the time she got out of the shower so Ame had high hopes. Her sister was soft-hearted and sentimental and Ame was certain that she would be forgiven before lunch.

"Oh my, what a daringly professional outfit little sister," Kaname cooed when he finally wandered in from work. "Where are you going? You don't have classes until later today."

"Oh, I'm not going to class today," Ame replied, gesturing to a bowl of rice-porridge steaming on the counter. Kaname made a sharp turn and picked it up, inhaling the delicious, home-cooked soup. "I'm assisting in high school classes at Ema's school for two weeks as part of my psychology course."

 _Ah, and that's why you're dressed like a sexy teacher,_ he thought to himself but wisely did not say out loud. Instead he grinned behind the rim of his bowl and made his way over to the couch. "Have a good day in class then, little sister~."

"Thanks, I hope I will," Ame slid her feet into a pair of modest kitten heels and walked out the door. As she did she spotted piles of cherry leaves that had blown all over the place. _Will I have time to clean all that up today?_ She had homework to do, not to mention grocery shopping, and then dinner…

She caught the train to the school and smiled her way through introductions. Although she was not allotted to Ema's year group, a few students remembered her from when she went there and she could tell this by the way they regarded her with a mix of awe and slight fear. However from those who didn't know her, she had to suffer through the least subtle and most awkward flirting because – as Fuuto had shown her – fifteen year old boys were weirdly sexual beings.

Because she wasn't really a teacher, her day ended early which meant she had time to swing by the shops and grab ingredients for dinner. There was even a sale on beef sirloin!

On her way home she spotted Subaru in the distance. He had walked out of the house and was sweeping up the cherry blossoms. "Wow, you're home early!" She called out. "No practice?"

"Not today," he replied curtly, avoiding eye contact and holding himself tensely like he wanted to escape the conversation as quickly as possible.

But Ame was still feeling a little stung from the conversation she'd had with Ema the night before. "What? Now you can't even look at me?" She placed a hand on her hip and widened her eyes innocently. "I'm hurt, Subaru-kun. Everyone seems to think I'm the bad guy here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he muttered, still not looking at her. "I'm just busy, that's all."

Ame huffed and rolled her eyes. "Ema talked to me and, according to her, I have been a little hard on you." Subaru snorted and turned it into a cough when her eyes narrowed. "Anyway…I thought about it and, maybe I have treated you a little unfairly. I mean, you haven't actually _done_ anything to warrant such harsh treatment."

"Does that mean you'll stop threatening me at every turn?" He arched an eyebrow.

"As long as you stay in your lane, sure," Ame turned and strutted towards the house, her heels clicking rhythmically on the tile until she paused at the entrance, "remember that caveat, Subaru: stay in your lane." With that she walked into the house and left him to his sweeping.

She put the meat into the fridge and started on her homework, a task that took up the better part of three hours so she almost missed when Ema came home.

The younger girl wandered over to her, fiddling with her fingers and biting her lip. Neither of them said anything for a long moment until Ema finally looked up. "Thanks for lunch," she mumbled.

"It was nothing," Ame replied just as quietly.

"Subaru-kun told me you were going to be nicer."

"That might be stretching it a bit-"

"Thank you. I know I snapped a little last night but I do appreciate you and you are my big sister-"

"Stop, I get it!" Ame's face was bright pink the colour it went when she was receiving genuine affection that she wasn't sure what to do with. "Whatever, stop looking at me like that! Go do your homework!"

As soon as she disappeared up the stairs, Iori came in. He looked surprised to see her although his expression soon changed to one of quiet pleasure. "Hi Ame-chan…"

 _As reserved as ever,_ Ame smiled at him. "Hi Iori-kun. How was your day?"

"It was fine," he flushed faintly. "Thank you for the lunchbox. It was delicious."

"You're welcome," she replied. Ame took great pride in her bento-box skills. All those years watching YouTube videos would not be wasted. "Is that one of the tulips from outside?" She stared at the bright red flower in his free hand.

He jerked like he had forgotten that he had it in the first place. "Yes. It's for you. I thought you could put it with the camellias."

"I have no idea how I've kept those alive all this time," Ame murmured, thinking of the well-watered bunch of camellias that spruced up her dressing table. "Thank you! Oh gosh, that reminds me, I should start dinner!"

Iori followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "Isn't it Ukyo-nii's turn to cook tonight?"

"Yes but he's been busy recently," Ame replied, bumping the fridge door shut with her hip. "I can at least put the soup to cook. It won't take long. Do you want to help?"

"Um, I'm not sure I'll be much use-"

"Nonsense!" Ame flicked out a knife and, after examining it with a critical eye, proceeded to sharpen it loudly until it gleamed. "Here, chop up the carrots. They don't have to be neat but they do need to be in cubes." She watched him mangle a carrot with an amused giggle. "No, hold the carrot firmly. Like this," she ducked under one arm and guided his hands. "Yeah, like that! Good job!"

"It's because Ame-chan is a good teacher," he replied with a little smile, peering down at her.

"Aw, you're so nice to me! Oh, hey Ukyo-nii! How was work?" Ame's attention switched to the brother that had just arrived, weighed down by his briefcase and exhaustion. His gaze landed on them and narrowed, taking in how close they were standing to each other and the fact that Ame's hand was resting on Iori's upper arm.

Then he smiled. "It was fine. Ame-chan, I thought we were going to cook together."

"Well I thought you would be tired when you got home," Ame looked away and missed the thunderous glares the two shot at each other. "Anyway, thanks for cutting up the vegetables Iori. All that's left is the meat!"

"Do you need any help with that?" Ukyto strode forward, placing a proprietary hand on Ame's shoulder. She blinked at the unexpected contact and then brushed it aside, filing it away for later consideration.

"Well this cut is tougher than I thought it would be," she replied, not really because she had a problem cutting it up but just to give an answer. "I did consider marinating it in honey and spices but that will take too long."

"Here, let me see," Ukyo fit himself behind her, leaning over her shoulder. From that position though he couldn't see Ame's eyes widen. _Are you kidding me?_ She thought with a muted scowl.

"My, what are the three of you flirting about?"

 _Goddammit._ At least Hikaru's surprise appearance made Ukyo move back. "When did you get here?" He said, flustered and surprised at his behaviour. He wasn't a teenager, why was he acting like a child with a new toy?

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you were flirting in the kitchen," he teased. No one responded for a moment, then Ukyo shook his head and walked out of the kitchen to compose himself, Iori went back to cutting up the vegetables. Hikaru smirked at Ame knowingly and sashayed out of the kitchen.

 **This will be edited later I just wanted to post something!**


	23. Crossing A Line

**Crossing A Line**

"Ame-e-e-e-e-e-e!" Ema called from the bottom of the stairs. It was one of those rare days when everyone was out of the house so she didn't feel too bad about raising her voice. "Hurry up or we'll miss the bus!"

There was a thud from upstairs and muffled cursing. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Ema giggled and busied herself by brushing down her shirt. A moment later Ame appeared, her hair twisted into long, artful braid that draped over her left shoulder which was what had taken her so long. She ran a hand over her bangs and huffed. "I can't believe you convinced me to do this."

"No?" Ema smiled bemusedly. "You knew about Subaru's game and immediately decided to come along. No coercion was needed."

Her sister scoffed dramatically, recalling the invitation with hidden disdain. Out loud she said, "I hate sports."

"You ran track for three years in high school," Ema pointed out.

"Okay fine, I hate _team_ sports," Ame waved a hand imperiously. "At least then you can rely on your own talent and there's no one else bringing you down."

"...I can't tell if that was bold or depressing."

"Hush you. Now let's go already!"

Linking arms, the two girls made their way out of the house and towards the station. The basketball game was being held at the local stadium and it was an intercollegiate affair, meaning that hundreds of other people from other schools would be there. Ame hoped that they would find adequate seats.

As luck would have it, they managed to arrive right as the whistle blew, and when they stepped into the stadium there were still a few seats free. "Can you see Subaru-nii anywhere?" Ema yelled over the roar of the crowd, cupping her hands around her mouth to magnify the sound.

"No!" Ame shouted back. "It doesn't look like he's been put in yet!"

Ema pouted and tried to watch the match, but she didn't care about sports that much and she didn't understand most of the rules. She recalled a time in elementary school when the principal had tried to make certain sports compulsory; soccer for the boys, and basketball for the girls. The only rules she could remember were that you could only take a certain number of steps while holding the ball and that shots from the middle of the court were worth more.

Beside her, Ame spent the bulk of the match texting, only looking up when the crowd started shrieking and to check the score. She looked up again and saw that Meiji was one point ahead. As her gaze returned to her phone screen, she caught sight of a familiar face. "Natsume-nii's here," she informed Ema.

"Really?" Ema turned to see the ginger triplet making his way over. He waved when he reached the stairs, looking between them curiously.

"You both came as well?" He asked them, sitting down in the chair behind Ame. "I didn't know you liked basketball."

"Ha, actually..." Ema shot a worried look at her sister who blinked back at her placidly, "actually Subaru-nii invited me."

"You were invited by Subaru?" Natsume looked surprised to hear that. He continued in a somewhat tactless manner, "Why would Subaru invite you?"

Ema stared up at him, her eyes filling with hurt. "That's..." she looked down. Was she not a part of the family? Was that why it seemed so strange for Subaru to invite her to watch him? She'd thought she was becoming close with all of them but Natsume's question filled her head with doubts.

Before she could think on it too much the scream of a whistle split the air and Ame's head snapped up in response to the shrill sound. The voice over the speakers droned dutifully. " _Meiji University, player substitution. In replacement of no. 7 Yamada, no. 14 Asahina will play._ "

"Oh, Subaru's in now," she noted and then winced when Ema immediately leaned forward and began cheering excitedly. "Watch the arms!"

"You should be cheering too! Come on, Ame! Subaru, _Subaru over here!_ "

Maybe he could hear her screams above the roar of the crowd or maybe he just happened to be looking over but Subaru soon spotted the three of them. Surprise made his eyes widen, and then he seemed to shake it off and get his head in the game. Ame watched him curiously. She had to hand it to Subaru, he took clearly his basketball quite seriously and she could admire that sort of focus. Were he not panting at the heels of her baby sister, she might have even liked him.

The crowd went wild when Subaru slammed the ball into the net. Ema squealed and batted Ame's arm happily. "Did you see that? Isn't he amazing? Natsume isn't he amazing?"

"He's good, I'll give him that," Ame allowed with a smile for her exuberant sister.

"I'd heard he was in a slump but it looks like he's doing better now," Natsume nodded.

With Natsume playing the game appeared to pick up the pace. It would definitely be a close match and a minute to the end Sensyu College was ahead by one point. Even Ame who still didn't care was but who was also ridiculously competitive had started yelling at Meiji to _hurry up and score!_

 _24...23...22..._

" _Come on Subaru!_ "

 _5...4...3...2...1...ZZZZZZZZ!_

* * *

oOo

* * *

"I can't believe we won by two points and literally no time on the clock."

Ema looked over at her sister and laughed at the dazed look on her face. She always got so into competitions and seeing her come down from the high of victory was always funny. "And you thought this would be boring," she teased.

"I like to think that I am capable of learning from my mistakes," Ame replied with a wry grin. The two sisters shared a look and Ema arched a pointed eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that. Mistakes can be subjective!"

Ema rolled her eyes. "Of course they can. Still I can't believe Subaru-nii made a shot like that at the last second!" Ema enthused, turning to face Natsume who had been silent ever since the game had ended."I know I don't understand basketball much though..."

He shook his head. "No, it was a really exciting game." They exited the stadium and he frowned up at the rapidly darkening sky. "It looks like rain. I didn't bring an umbrella. Did any of you?"

In response Ame whipped a bright blue, retractable umbrella from her bag. "Because I am always prepared for everything," she smirked and waved it at Ema, nearly bopping her in the nose. "We should get something to eat on the way home. I'm thinking hot-pot..."

"Instead of walking I can drive you back," Natsume offered. "My car is parked nearby."

Ame considered him. Her feelings on Natsume were fairly neutral; he wasn't aggressive enough to hurt Ema and he wasn't suave enough to flirt with her. Furthermore, he didn't live with them so interactions between them were few and fairly far apart.

"Oh, you don't have to..." Ema stammered out, but he cut her off.

"You don't have to be so restrained," he frowned down at her, "we're siblings now. It's only natural."

 _If only everyone else would get the memo,_ Ame thought with a wry smile. Just then Natsume's phone began to ring. Natsume looked at the screen curiously and then his eyes sharpened into something serious.

"It's from a business partner," he informed them. "Please wait for me. _Hello? Yes, this is Asahina..._ "

Ame watched him walk away to have his conversation. "Isn't that lucky? Now we don't have to pay for a ticket home."

"But we haven't congratulated Subaru-nii yet," Ema peered through the crowd worriedly. "I wanted to tell him how great he was!"

Ame pulled a face. "Don't ever tell boys they're great Ema, it just raises their egos more than what's necessary and makes them think they have a chance with you when in reality you're just being friendly. Instead, just punch his shoulder and call him 'bro'. _Really_ emphasise the bro part just so he gets the message."

Ema gave her sister a bemused and vaguely longsuffering smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ame stared her sister in the face and then let out a gusty sigh. "Your innocence is one of the best things about you. Don't ever change." _It is also one of the most aggravating; please learn to read people a little better._ Sometimes Ame couldn't tell if her sister was truly that naive or if she just wanted something to be true so badly she was willing to ignore everything else.

"You're being overprotective again," Ema hummed, patting Ame's hair gently. "I'm not a baby, Mai."

The use of her private and personal family nickname made something loosen in Ame's chest. She sighed and pulled away. "I think I saw a vending machine on our way out. What do you want?"

"Strawberry juice," Ema replied immediately. "Oh, and bubblegum!"

"If there is bubblegum you'll have to fight me for it," Ame retorted with a grin. She walked off with a little bounce in her step and found the vending machine in the lobby. She bought a can of fizzy strawberry soda for Ema and, after considering it for a moment, a packet of super-stretchy bubblegum because she knew Ema liked seeing how big a bubble she could blow without getting it in her hair.

After purchasing a bottle of lemonade for herself, Ame made her way back outside and froze in her tracks. Subaru was hugging Ema. Hugging her to his chest like they were a couple in a romantic movie, like his next move was going to be to kiss her or ask her to become his girlfriend!

No, she had to be calm about this. She had promised that she was going to be better. It was possible he was just excited and the adrenaline from the match had made him more exuberant. She crept closer to listen, keeping her footfalls light as she approached Subaru's back.

"Is there someone you like?" He was asking. "I'm being serious so please tell me! Is there someone you like? No, is there someone you're going out with?"

Ame couldn't see her sister's face but she could hear the confusion in her voice. "Um, no? There's no one I'm interested in..."

Subaru nodded and Ame took a deep, deep breath. There was ozone in the air, the smell of approaching rain. She had to keep calm, she couldn't-! "Then I want you to be by my side from now on. I need you."

 _Crack._

Subaru spun around and Ame looked down at her hand. In her effort to hide her growing rage she had crushed her bottle of lemonade and the juice was pouring all over the ground. She stared silently, uncomprehendingly at the mangled bottle, and then she blinked at him. And then she grinned. It wasn't a kind smile.

"Ema would you go wait with Natsume?" She said sweetly. "I think I need to have a talk with our dear brother."

 **I downloaded like 6 otome games in the past week so if anyone wants me to write a story that's essentially me reacting to otome games please let me know because wow do these games have a lot of issues ranging from "main character who can't do shit" to "consent what? who? I don't know her"**


	24. I Live For You

**I Live For You**

The rain came down harder, ice-cold drops splashing against the cobblestones and asphalt. The smell of petrichor and ozone fills the air as thunder rumbles in the distance. People hurry to their cars or under the stadium awning to avoid getting soaked, none paying attention to the two standing unmoving under the shower.

Ame took a moment to compose herself. The drink was sticky in her hand so she dropped the bottle and pulled a pack of tissues from her bag to wipe her fingers clean. All the while Subaru watched, unsure what to do or say. He had never seen Ame this angry before. He tried to formulate an explanation, a defence. He wouldn't back down from Ema, he wasn't sorry about telling her how he felt. He loved her after all, didn't that matter? So what if she was his step-sister? He had never asked her to be! There was no blood between them anyway, so what did it matter if he wanted her?

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Ame crumpled up the tissue and tucked it into her bag, pulling out a small, retractable umbrella instead. It snapped open with a sound that made Subaru flinch and she held it over her head.

"So..." Ame spoke, her voice unsettlingly mild. "You told her."

"I won't apologise for that," Subaru replied.

Ame laughed. "Oh I'm not asking you to," she shook her head and turned away from him. Even with the humidity and rain, her hair and dress still fluttered prettily. She went on in that same voice, "Instead, let me ask you this: why?"

Subaru's eyes narrowed. "Why what?" He asked.

"Why do you love my sister? Oh I know she's nice," she interrupted, "she's pretty and sweet, and she is the kindest, most forgiving person I know, but those are surface traits. I'm sure you know lots of attractive and nice girls already, so why Ema?"

Subaru opened his mouth to respond but wasn't sure what to say. There were too many ways to respond and too many landmines. "I-"

A sigh. "Fine, let me make this easier for you. What do you actually know about Ema?" Ame turned a little so he could see the side of her face and the expression of cold, knowing contempt on her face. "What's her favourite colour Subaru? What's her favourite food? What are her hobbies? _What do you know about Ema?_ " She shook her head with a derisive laugh. "Have you actually had a conversation with her? Do you know anything about my sister that doesn't fit your own fantasies?"

The words were like sharp knives cutting their truth into his chest. Subaru clenched his fists and raised his voice to counter them. "I want to know more about her! I love Ema-chan and I want to make her happy! Why are you so against that?"

" _Because she doesn't want you!_ " Ame yelled back. Her usual expression of impassiveness had twisted into something furious and wild. Flames raged in her eyes and her hair had begun to slip out of its braid. "My sister came here thinking she was getting a _family!_ She was so fucking _happy_ when our father got married! And now _you all want to take that away from her!_ "

Ame was panting hard by the end and Subaru was frozen in shock. He had no idea what to say. "Ame-chan..."

"I love my sister more than anything in this life," her next words were cold, almost robotic. "I would do anything for her. I choose her happiness over mine every time. She is the best thing in my life and I'll be damned if I let you, or anyone ruin anything!"

Her hand flashed out and would have definitely connected with his face. Luckily years of playing basketball had honed his reflexes and he managed to catch her wrist. "Ame-chan, please! Listen to yourself! This isn't healthy!" He pleaded, more than a little freaked out but also genuinely concerned.

Ame shook her head, her eyes still wide and wild. "She's the only real family I have," she said to him. "I have to keep her safe at any cost."

And then she opened her mouth to let out a scream

"...I can't..."

Subaru opened his eyes and stared down at Ame. She was staring at his chest with unseeing eyes, tears clouding her vision and clumping her lashes together.

"I can't do it. Goddammit you don't deserve this," her fingers twisted and tightened in the fabric of his jersey and she rested her forehead against his chest. She sounded exhausted. "I don't know how to deal with this. How do I make all of you _go away_?" She then pushed at him and his surprise made him stumble backwards. Ame rubbed her eyes roughly. "I actually don't hate you, you know? I know that sounds pointless after," she waved the hand not holding her umbrella in a jerky motion, "everything I've done, but I don't hate you. I just love my sister more and I know she would have hated what I was about to do so...I won't."

Subaru reached for her, concern warring with several other complicated emotions, and his hand stopped a few inches above her shoulder. "Ame-chan, I think you should know that-"

"Shut up, Subaru," she smacked his hand away. "You're still a problem. Don't compound the issue by talking." Then she took a deep breath and exhaled it softly. Ame patted down her hair, examined her skirt for wrinkles, and reapplied a coat of gloss. In a moment she was as composed as she had been before, and barring the slight redness to her eyes, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

She turned to stare at him for a long moment that made him feel like an insect being appraised. "I consider you the lesser of all the evils," she informed him eventually. "Be sure to stay that way. I can't guarantee that I'll always have a crisis of conscience."

That said, Ame turned and made her way towards the car park, leaving Subaru standing there as the rain fell around him.

 **...I KNOW AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS I SAID THAT AME WASN'T A BAD PERSON AND ALL BUT IMMA BE REAL WITH YA'LL THIS STORY IS GOING PLACES I DIDN'T EXPECT ALSO I JUST WATCHED A PLAYTHROUGH OF DOKI DOKI LITERATURE CLUB BEFORE I WROTE THIS SO I MAY CHANGE SOME THINGS BUT I WANTED TO POST THIS ANYWAY SINCE I LIKE HOW IT CAME OUT**

 **ALSO KUDOS TO ANYONE WHO RECOGNISES AME'S LINES.**

 **EDIT: I edited the chapter because listen...Ame isn't heartless...also someone wanted her to bond with the brothers so consider this a Subaru and Ame Bonding Moment**


	25. At School and At Home

**At School and At Home**

" _Ms. Asahina will be joining us for the next three weeks as part of a class module. Please treat her with respect and kindness, alright?"_

" _Yes teacher!"_

It had been almost a week since Ame had become a TA in the high school. Walking through those tiled hallways brought back memories of when she used to attend Hinode High as a bright-eyed little girl. It hadn't changed much in the three years she had been gone. There were still bits of familiar graffiti that hadn't been scrubbed away by time or underpaid janitors.

Ame passed by a row of lockers and paused to run her fingers over a faded ink drawing of an _ai-ai gasa_. The names underneath the umbrella were familiar even though she couldn't quite remember the faces they were attached to. H. Aoi and Y. Tsubasa, she wondered if they were still together after all this time.

It was a lovely day outside, perfect for any school event no matter how minor but this was no minor affair. Ame made her way outside, brushing aside a strand of hair that had refused to cooperate and be a functional part of her bun. As an assistant Ame tried to keep her appearance neat and strict enough to appease the teachers but not so painfully austere that she came off as a killjoy. The blue blazer and matching pencil skirt were something she had bought when she and Ema had gone shopping in Osaka last year. Ema had something similar in a gorgeous pearlescent shade of pink.

Speaking of Ema, Ame had been on her way to check on her. According to the roster and plans in the teacher's lounge, Ema was by the front gate welcoming new students and handing out flyers so that was where she was headed.

On her way there she heard the sounds of people screaming and several girls suddenly ran past her, screeching to each other. Regaining her balance quickly, Ame winced. He was here.

Fuuto stood in front of the small table laden with flyers. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the colourful, preppy art and instead bowed. "Good morning," he greeted Ema and Yuusuke, keeping his face perfectly straight if only because it seemed to annoy Yuusuke. "I am Asahina Fuuto and I just transferred to Hinode High School today. Please take care of me, senpai~."

He threw in a wink just to see Yuusuke's face turn the same hue as his hair. Ha, this was fun, but where was his other sister...

"What is happening here?" The voice cut through the air, loud and commanding. The gathered crowd parted and Ame marched past them. Fuuto's eyes lit up and drifted down slowly. _Mmm..._

Ame spared a second to glance at Fuuto before pinning her attention on the actual unexpected face. "Azusa-nii, I didn't know you'd be here." It was only a little bit irritating as Ame prided herself on knowing things. She did not enjoy surprises.

Azusa's smile was both helpless and amused. "Everyone else was busy so I decided to be there to complete his transfer," he explained. "I'm placing Fuuto in your hands, Ms. Asahina. I pray he won't be much trouble," Azusa bowed a tad theatrically and Ame couldn't help laughing.

"I'll make sure of that," she replied with a grin. The woman straightened her face and turned back to look at the hovering audience. "I suppose we should move to a more sedate location. Ema, Yuusuke, keep up the good work. Asahina Fuuto-san, Asahina Azusa-san please follow me. We should be able to fill out all the necessary documents before the assembly."

To Fuuto's credit, he managed to not say or do anything incriminating until they had left the registrar's office, Azusa had gone, and they were alone in the shadows of the cherry blossom trees that grew on the school grounds. Then he immediately sidled up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. " _Big sister~_ "

"Do not," Ame immediately stepped out of his hold. "Fuuto – and I can't believe I have to tell you this – I am _not. Interested_."

"Don't be like that Ame-nee," he cooed, playing up his sweet, cute persona that had won so many hearts before. "I'm just being brotherly. Isn't this what siblings do?" He slipped his fingers between hers, pulling them closer to each other. His chest puffed out with pride when she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. "Did you notice, big sister? I've grown taller."

"I see that," Ame replied dryly while inside she groaned because, of all the Asahina brothers, Fuuto was the one who least deserved a confidence boost of _any kind_. She pushed him away again but was unable to get him to release her hand short of clawing at his hands. She stared at their linked fingers before heaving a sigh. "You are such a child."

Fuuto frowned at her. That was the opposite of what he'd wanted. "A child couldn't touch you the way I want."

 _No._ "No, I meant that literally," Ame snapped, "you are literally _a child_ Fuuto. I am a 20 year old woman and you are 15. Not to mention that you are also _my brother._ There may be no blood between us," she cut him off before he could begin to argue, "but we are siblings in everything but actual DNA _._ So let go of me. Right. Now."

The boy scowled. He took a step closer while straightening up to his full height, and looked down at her. "Is it because of Ukyo-nii?"

Ame shot him a bemused look. "Is what because of Ukyo?"

"Do you like Ukyo?" Fuuto slid a hand over his stepsister's cheek. There was a strand of hair that refused to cooperate and he looped it around his finger. "Or is it Iori? Hikaru said he saw you in the kitchen with them."

 _Hikaru I swear,_ Ame snarled internally. "Hikaru sees a lot of things," she replied out loud. "It's probably part of being a journalist."

"Were you in the kitchen with them?" Ame realised that he had her backed against the building. The cold stone touched the back of her neck and that, combined with the position she was in, made her stiffen. Fuuto stared her in the eye; the common gleam playfulness was gone from his brown eyes and replaced by something else more mean-spirited. "It's not fair, big sister. You threaten us for spending time with Ema-chan but look at you. You _want_ to be played with."

He wasn't expecting the shove. It knocked air from his lungs and sent him stumbling backwards so sharply that he nearly fell over. Ame glared at him, her eyes burning. Despite their actual height difference, in that moment she towered over him. "You think I put myself in the positions I do because I _enjoy it?_ " Ame asked in a quiet voice. "You think I'm having _fun? Do you think this is a good situation?!_ "

For a moment Fuuto expected to be hit but to his surprise Ame's eyes went unfocused. She blinked once, twice, and then closed her eyes. She appeared to compose herself and, when they opened again, they were dim and normal. "The assembly is half over. I recommend you catch the rest of it. I will see you in class, Asahina Fuuto."

Fuuto watched her walk away, her heels clicking sedately, almost robotically on the stones. He quickly fell in step with her. He was silent until they reached one of the entrances to the auditorium, and then he reached out to push her hair behind her ear. "You're really hot when you're angry, big sister. I look forward to a very _stimulating_ experience with you, _sensei_."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"This isn't something to laugh about!"

"Calm down Yuusuke," Hikaru said, covering his grinning lips with painted fingers. "Fuuto hid this from almost all of us. It's Fuuto; what did you expect?"

"A warning?" Ame replied dryly, sliding a pointed look over her drink in Masaomi's direction. He didn't see this because he was scrolling through Ema's little camera with a fond smile on his face.

Ema nodded and put a hand on her chest. "When Azusa-san arrived at school I was really surprised," she said. "I thought something bad had happened."

"We didn't mean to worry you," Azusa inclined his head with an apologetic smile. Then he turned to Ame with a more serious expression. "He's in your class, isn't he? Please watch out for him."

"I will," Ame nodded. She and Kaname glanced over at Masaomi who was utterly engrossed in the pictures. "What are you looking at, Masaomi-san?"

He tilted the camera in their direction, revealing a slideshow of pictures from the entrance ceremony. "Aw, Ema-chan, what lovely pictures!" Kaname cooed. "What an eye for detail. I'd love to model for you someday."

"You don't even model anyway," Yuusuke muttered.

Ame leaned over and peered at the pictures. "When did you take these? I never even saw you!"

"I want to see, I want to see!" Wataru scrambled over Ema and Ame and tried to snatch the camera from Kaname.

"Fine, fine," Kaname handed it to him with a patiently amused smile. Wataru let out an excited chirp and ran off with the camera and Juli. "Be careful with it!"

Masaomi chuckled. "Girls are so naturally attentive," he said. "Since mom wasn't here, no one even thought about taking pictures."

"I just happened to have the camera on me," Ema shrugged with a demure smile. "With the wedding ceremony, the flower viewing, and all the other recent occasions it just seemed natural to want it close. I am trying to save up for a smartphone like Ame's so I can take more pictures."

"I've offered to buy you one," Ame pointed out. "She said no," she mock-whispered to Kaname.

Ema snickered. "Anyway, I was thinking of printing out some of these pictures and framing them for the family."

"Oh!" Masaomi stood up with an expression of delight. "Would you mind if we decorated this room with it?" He gestured to the living room which, although expertly and tastefully designed, was lacking in familial accoutrements. There were a few, like Wataru's lopsided clay decorations and Azusa and Tsubaki's scribbled-on scripts, but other than that the room looked like it could have been a _Bed, Bath and Beyond_ set-up.

"Of course I don't mind!" Ema looked excited.

"Mom should have some picture frames somewhere," Masaomi gestured to her to follow him and the two walked off to go look for them. While they were gone Ame showed Kaname and Azusa the more impromptu pictures she had taken on her phone. Most of them were blurrier than Ema's but she'd also gotten a video of Fuuto sprinting away from a crowd of fans which got a laugh out of everyone.

When Ema and Masaomi returned, he was holding a stack of books. "What are those?" Azusa quizzed before he let out a groan. "Oh no."

"Are those baby photos!?" Ame snapped to attention. "I need to see those!"

"Oh my goodness, _look at you!_ " Ema squealed and pointed to one of the pictures. _"_ Kaname-san, you're wearing a bunny costume!"

Kaname pretended to succumb to a violent wound. "Oh no! Such embarrassing moments revealed! How can I ever recover from this?"

"You can't," Azusa informed him dryly causing Ame to start giggling.

Ema kept cooing as she flipped through the pages, the brothers chiming in occasionally with stories when they could or just to tease each other. Eventually Tsubaki came home and joined the impromptu party. "Looks like you're all having fun," he grinned as he settled next to his twin. "What are we doing?"

"Looking at baby pictures," Ame replied. "Look, there's Masaomi and Yuusuke! Look at how fluffy his hair is!"

"Oi, don't look at that!"

Wataru leaned forward, pushing his head under Ema's arm. "Where am I? Where am I?"

"Oh, um..." Ema flipped several months into the future, "here! Aw, you were so cute!"

Wataru grinned with pink cheeks before examining the two pages. "How come there aren't that many pictures of me?"

"It's because you're still young," Hikaru smirked at him. "You'll get more pictures as you get older."

Ame chuckled at Wataru's pouting face. She turned another page in the album and something slipped out from between the pages. She picked it up curiously; it was a picture of either Azusa or Tsubaki, and it looked like either the photographer or model had been moving because it was quite blurry. "Who's this?" She asked.

"Oh, that's me isn't it?" Azusa leaned over to study the picture. "And the one who took that picture was Tsubaki. I think we were playing with mom's camera outside."

Masaomi nodded. "I remember that. It was too blurry to put in the albums but we didn't want to just get rid of it."

"Hey, don't treat it like garbage!" Tsubaki snapped. "I was just a kid!"

"No, you're right," Ema took the picture from her sister. "I don't have that many baby pictures either, so I think it's important to treasure them. I'm kind of jealous actually. Being able to capture the good times in pictures with your family is something wonderful." Only Kaname caught the way Ame had briefly stiffened and then drooped at the mention of baby pictures.

"Would you like to have it then?"

Azusa's sudden and unexpected offering surprised everyone but when he tried to backtrack Ema stopped him with a sweet and genuine smile. "I'd love to have it! Thank you!"

"O-Oh, well...if you're sure..." his eyes darted to Ame quickly, too quickly to catch, and he blushed faintly.

* * *

 **LONG A/N HERE I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS IT IS WHY I AM AN AUTHOR:**

 **So someone suggested I change the genre of this to drama and not comedy, which is fair I mean. When I started this I didn't actually plan for Ame to have her current personality but I just thought it would be an interesting departure from the norm.**

 **Also I get that some people don't like Ame's approach, and that's fair. I am not trying to tell you how to feel about a character because you are free to have opinions, but imagine the situation she's in. She's in a home, surrounded by 12 men who are not only her stepbrothers, not only are they physically bigger and stronger than she is, but they** _ **also**_ **want to bang her underage sister. Ema isn't safe in her own home and their parents aren't there to protect her because goddammit Ema is 16** _ **fucking years old she is a child the only two people she could legally date are Fuuto and Yuusuke and one of them tried to sexually assault her in her sleep oh boy that's gonna be a fun chapter.**_

 **The girl literally just wanted a family and instead she got a harem of perverts, a yandere with suicidal tendencies, _an actual fifth grader holy shit_ , and most of them apparently don't understand the meaning of consent. Hikaru even suggests that they should all try forcing themselves on Ema but luckily Kaname punched him which is why he's my favourite.**

 **Anyway that's why I personally don't feel bad about Ame being a complete mother bear because Ema is a pure weak damsel which is the fate of those cursed with being otome game heroines. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.**


	26. The Princess and the Dragon

**The Princess and the Dragon**

Working as TA wasn't easy. Since she wasn't an actual teacher and wasn't that much older than most of the students, Ame found it was necessary to temper austerity with kindness. You caught more flies with honey, wasn't that how that English idiom went?

Ame leaned against the window of the train with a sigh and watched the landscape fly past out of the corner of her eye. The sky was a bright blue, streaked with translucent grey clouds as though someone had painted them there. Two birds dipped and twirled around each other, their wings arced up to catch the wind.

The train jerked over an uneven portion of the track, jostling the passengers and bringing Ame back down to earth. There was so much she needed to think about and so much and so much that couldn't do anything about. As always her sister's wellbeing dominated her mind.

Sometimes Ame thought about what it would have been like to have had a mother. That thought didn't come often mind you, but when it did Ame considered it the way you might consider another pointless fantasy. What were mothers even like? Ostensibly Ame was aware that mothers did pretty much what she did sans the social repercussions and backtalk.

Their father was gone very often; it wasn't his fault, he needed to work and Ame didn't resent him for it. In fact she had taken the other extreme and had become fairly independent. The day she learned to work the stove and cook was the day their stopped meaning anything to her other than a monthly allowance and the occasional bedtime story.

That didn't mean she didn't love him. Ame loved her father a lot. Still...

Just then the train came to a stop and Ame grabbed a nearby bar to keep steady. It seemed that she'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the train pulling into the station. After quickly checking that this was indeed the right one, Ame squeezed her way out of the train and made her way out of the station.

Just as she was making her way over to the bus station, she caught sight of a familiar head of hair; a flash of silver within a sea of brown and black.

 _Iori?_

To her surprise, it was Iori, which was surprising because she had never seen him take this train before. Wasn't his university in another district? Ame pondered this as she watched the back of his white uniform blazer. He was standing on the other side of the hall and surveying a large map of the train system.

 _Well it won't hurt to say hello,_ Ame hiked her handbag higher over her shoulder and made her way over to her stepbrother. As though sensing her approach he turned to face her, looking less shocked by her own appearance than she'd been at his.

"Ame-chan," he greeted in that soft, refined voice that sometimes made Ame feel like she was gargling nails.

"Iori-kun," she smiled at him, "I didn't expect to see you here!"

He shrugged. "The train I usually take was delayed," he revealed and then he regarded her curiously, "I didn't know you took this train though."

"Only on Wednesdays and Fridays," she told him. Every other weekday she had to stay back in the school to help mark papers or do her own homework. "Then I take the bus back. It should be here in about," she pulled out her phone, swiping away a text from Fuuto and pausing to smirk at one from Kaname, "ten minutes."

Iori blinked placidly. "I'll come with you."

The bus-stop was empty save for a middle-school boy engrossed in a very intense mobile game and another in a high-school uniform. While Ame didn't particularly care how you chose to wear the uniform once you'd stepped out of those hallowed gates, she had to admire how neat the boy's uniform was. Clearly he held himself to some higher level of management which was at once both admirable and irritating yet it showed that he at least cared about how he presented himself.

Briefly amused, Ame turned to ask Iori about his classes, when she felt something nudge her shoulder. "Hey pretty woman, what's your name?"

"What?" She turned and stared at the boy. He was probably Ema's age, which tousled black hair and a badge clipped to his front that proclaimed him as a prefect of some sort. "Are-Are you talking to me?" Just to be sure.

He smirked at her. "Yeah. Can I get your number?"

 _Oh dear god,_ Ame pressed her lips together and wondered if she should invest in heavier makeup. "I'm not interested," she replied curtly.

"What do you mean by that?" The guy's grin grew a bit less friendly. "Don't be so suspicious. You'll never have any fun that way."

"Actually-"

"Actually," an arm suddenly looped around her waist and pulled her closer. Iori glared down at the boy, his normally calm facade breaking into something frightening, "Ame-chan's not available. Right, Ame?"

"What? I...I guess not?" Since she was unable to see Iori's face Ame had to wonder what kind of expression her stepbrother was making to cause such an intense expression of fear.

"Geez, fine! Alright! Keep your boyfriend on a leash, dammit," he muttered the last sentence under his breath as he shifted to the far side of the bus-stop. At that moment the bus arrived and the doors slid open.

"What did you do to him?" Ame asked, half-joking as they squeezed into the already full bus. Someone's foot tripped her up and Iori caught her around the waist to keep her steady.

He stared down at her with some emotion that made Ame feel a bit like backing away. The arm around her waist suddenly felt a lot more restrictive than it had before. "Ame-chan, you don't like loud guys right?"

"I-I what? What does that have to do with anything?"

"He wouldn't take no for an answer. You wanted him gone, didn't you?"

"Yes?" Ame replied slowly, suspiciously.

Iori's answering smile was almost smug. "If you stay next to me, no one will bother you, so let's stick together. Alright, Ame?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Have you noticed that Subaru-kun and Natsume-kun don't get along?" Ema asked out of the blue later that night.

"Hmm?" Ame looked up from her homework and focused on her sister. Ema had been engrossed in a new game that Natsume had given her. Ame didn't get it but it seemed to be fantasy based and involved a lot of bright colours and customization – so it was probably cool. "What makes you say that?"

Ema didn't respond for a while as she focused on getting past a challenging part. "When I got home I saw them arguing. It was about basketball I think. I was wondering if you knew anything about it."

 _I doubt it was only basketball,_ Ame hummed quietly and sat up. "What makes you think I'd have any idea?"

"Because you know everything?" Ema grinned cheekily over her shoulder.

Ame pretended to throw a pillow at her. "That is a terrible lie but I'll take it."

She climbed out of bed and went to sit next to Ema on the floor. The screen flashed white and orange as her sister proceeded to wipe out the incoming enemies with a wave of blue magic. "Hey...do you miss dad?"

"Yeah sometimes," Ema replied disinterestedly, "but it's not like I'll never see him again. He and Miwa-san are just having fun together as a newly married couple."

"Ema, they've been gone for almost three months," Ame retorted more sharply than she'd meant to.

On screen the warrior character sliced through a monster twice her size and then the game paused. Ema turned to study her sister. "What's going on? Why are you asking me that?"

"I..." Ame wasn't sure why, so instead she shrugged and looked away. "I'm just wondering why they're not back yet. Wouldn't it be cool to have a family dinner with everyone present? I mean, he missed Christmas!"

"It's not like this is the first time he's ever missed Christmas though," Ema pointed out with a concerned frown. "Seriously, Ame, what is wrong?"

"...nothing. Nothing! Anyway I'm hungry! I've been reading so much that I need brain food!" Ame got to her feet and quickstepped to the door. "Do you want anything?"

Ema stared up at her older from the carpet, catching the tense wrinkles in her forehead and her lips, and wondered whether or not to push the subject or not. "...could I have an ice-cream sandwich?"

"It is 8pm at night and you want sugar?" Ame grinned, the lines relaxing. "Alright. We can put your new album together when I get back."

"Oh, I'll get everything together then!"

Since it wasn't that late, all the lights were still on despite no one being downstairs. Kaname still wasn't home and Ukyo was pulling overtime for a big case. Ame pulled open the fridge and retrieved Ema's vanilla-mint ice cream first, then she pulled out a half-eaten pack of strawberries for herself. Just then she heard someone coming down the stairs.

Subaru paused at the foot of the stairs and considered walking back up them and straight back to his room. The two stared at each other silently for a long moment, then Ame sighed and stepped back from the fridge with her items. "Hungry?" She asked.

"...I just wanted a drink," he replied warily. Subaru eyed her as he pulled out his vitamin drink. In the daytime Ame wore makeup and nice clothes like armour. She dressed like she not only had to look nice, others had to look less put-together compared to her. Yet at night, with her makeup gone and her hair loose about her shoulders, she looked young and almost vulnerable.

He immediately shoved that thought away with a shudder. If Ame had any idea what he was thinking she would probably punch him.

"Ema's worried about you," Ame said out of the blue.

"...Is she?" Was this a trick? Ame leaned against the counter, juggling a frozen solid ice cream sandwich in her hand. It must have been for Ema because she and Wataru were the only two people who liked it. "Why?"

"You and Natsume argue a lot," the woman replied calmly, "she thinks it's her fault."

Subaru stiffened, remembering the argument he'd had with Natsume earlier that day. "It's none of your business," he replied coldly.

Ame shrugged. "That's fair."

"...that's it?" Subaru frowned, suspicious at her easy acceptance. "I thought-"

"That I'd insist on knowing the sad, sordid history that led to you and Natsume fighting all the time?" She arched an eyebrow and why did he ever think she was vulnerable? "I can't help with that, and you don't want to tell me anyway."

She stepped around him but Subaru grabbed her arm before she could leave the kitchen. "I'll tell you if you tell me."

"If I tell you what?" She inquired.

"Why you're so...protective of Ema. Why you act like she's a princess and you're the dragon that kills anyone that gets close to her."

"I don't-!" Ame turned and scowled at him. He faced her squarely. Finally she huffed. "I don't...I don't want to _be_ the dragon. It's just...that's the only role I can fill in this terrible fairytale. Maybe you _are_ the knight and Ema _is_ the damsel and _I'm_ the witch or dragon or monster to be bypassed or slain, but do you think I _want_ to be? I love my sister and you'll have to excuse me if I put her wishes above yours."

 **I wasn't sure how to end this because it is 1:30 am and I am so tired. Graduation (not mine) was yesterday so yesterday was exhausting too.**

 **Also I want to clarify, Ame is 20/21. That vague age because I don't know how old Ema is, I've heard 16/17 so jsyk Ame is 4 years older than Ema.**


	27. Unheard and Unwanted

**Unwanted and Unheard**

Tsubaki hadn't meant to overhear their conversation.

He'd come home late, something that happened frequently enough that no one was really worried about it. Sometimes work went on too long or he wandered around town well into the evening hours and ended up finding his way home when the sky had long gone dark.

Subaru's footsteps grew softer as his younger brother left the kitchen and disappeared up the stairs. Tsubaki leaned against the wall and watched Ame as she absentmindedly tossed the ice cream from one hand to the other, her eyes staring blankly at nothing and her shoulders stiff with tension. Then he pushed himself into the light with a bright smile. "I thought everyone would be asleep by now."

Ame's eyes snapped to him so sharply that Tsubaki had to force himself not to take an automatic step back. Then she took a deep breath and seemed to force herself to relax. "You come home earlier than Kaname-san," she replied with a shrug and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. If she suspected him of eavesdropping, she wasn't bringing it up.

Chuckling to himself, Tsubaki ambled forward until he was standing at the kitchen entrance. "Kaname-nii works odd hours," he said.

"Tell me about it," Ame hummed with a small but much more genuine smile, "honestly I'm never sure when he is working. He sends me so many texts all the time I don't know if he's on break or just being lazy."

Tsubaki grinned as well, hiding the sudden sharp vine of almost irrational jealousy that coiled around his heart. Texts? Of course they all had each other's numbers but he'd had no idea that Ame and Kaname-nii were so close. He recalled moments when he'd seen her smiling at her phone. Had she been texting him then? Had she been texting other people?

Ame was staring at him oddly so he quickly covered up his grimace with a question. "Why are you awake so late?"

"Ema wanted to make a family photo album so I'm helping her so she doesn't stay up all night doing it," Ame replied, and then she looked down at the ice cream she was holding. It was still frozen but the warmth of her air had turned the blue packaging and her hands wet with condensation. "Speaking of Ema, she's probably wondering why I took so long to get her an ice cream. Goodnight Tsubaki-nii."

She turned to leave and Tsubaki wasn't sure what made him do it but he suddenly lurched forward. His fingers wrapped around her arm in a grip that was as surprising to her as it was to him. For a few seconds they both stared at the link and then at each other.

Then Ame raised both eyebrows with a wry smirk. "This is becoming an odd trend," she said sardonically. "You're the second person who's done this."

Tsubaki tightened his grip on her wrist and caught the moment her expression changed. "How do you feel about Kaname-nii?"

"...what."

Although her response was phrased like a question, it did not sound like one. Tsubaki narrowed his eyes. "How do you feel about Kaname-nii? You talk about him often and you spend more time with him than any of us. You even blew off our date to go hang out with him."

"What? I blew off a date-?" Ame thought back. She hazily remembered something about a bakery but nothing beyond that.

That had been a while ago, had he been carrying that around this whole time? Yeesh.

With an internal sigh Ame turned her attention back to Tsubaki. "Kaname-nii is my older brother like you are, othing more and nothing less."

"Can I really trust that?" Tsubaki took a step forward, and then another when Ame took one back. "Is it just really that? I need you more than he does!" _Oh geez_ , she thought."I was a bad person before and I did bad things. I just took what I wanted without thinking about others but I'll apologize!" _What is happening why is he saying this oh no is the ice cream melting Ema's going to be so upset-!_ "Just kidding~!"

"Huh?"

Ame quickly pulled her wrist to her chest when he released it and watched with disbelief and a tiny bit of relief when Tsubaki pulled out a creased script from behind his back and tossed it on the counter. "Oh, so those were lines from your anime?"

"Yeah, something like that," he smirked. Then he suddenly reached forward and gripped her shoulders, yanking her into a hug. The ice cream tumbled from her hands, landing on the linoleum tiles with a wet smack. Ame's face was pressed against his chest, against the rumpled fabric of his shirt. This close she could smell his aftershave and lotion and feel the warmth of his body. It was too hot, too tight, cloying and uncomfortable and she wanted out, _out,_ _ **out!**_

"I won't apologize," he was saying. "Not for the kiss. Not for anything. I am serious about you and this is my proof."

As his head began to lower, Ame panicked and pushed him away. "Tsubaki, stop it. I don't-!"

Tsubaki's eyes hardened and Ame felt the first stirrings of actual fear. He looked frighteningly determined to do something to her, regardless of however she felt. Common sense told her to scream, to wake someone up, but anxiety warned her that almost everyone in this house was an enemy. So she reacted the only other way she could think of.

Her forehead connected hard with Tsubaki's nose. He let out a pained howl that was muffled by the blood seeping out of his nose. "Ow! What the fu-!"

"You want to know why I spend so much time with Kaname-nii?" Ame interrupted sharply. Her eyes were wild with fury and the remnants of her fear. There was a pink mark on her forehead from where she'd hit him. "Do you want to know why I text him all the time? It's because of this. It's because _he fucking respects me_. Do you understand that? Do you _understand_ what the words ' _stop'_ and ' _no_ ' mean? Do you think women like it when men force themselves on them? Don't you _ever_ touch meor my _sister_ you piece of tra-!"

Just then they heard a door upstairs creak open. Ame quickly cut herself off as Ema appeared on the balcony, blinking down at the two of them blearily. "Ame, what's taking so long? It's just ice-cream. Oh Tsubaki-nii, you're home late – what happened to you?!"

Ame rubbed her forehead surreptitiously and after shooting him a poisonous glare, she scooped up the now soft and sadly disfigured ice-cream sandwich from the floor. "He walked into a door. Right, Tsubaki-san?"

The sharp tone of the lie wasn't lost on anyone, and Ema wasn't sure what to do as her sister marched up the stairs, shoved the ice cream at her, and disappeared into her room. Apparently she was done making family pictures.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Ema hadn't wanted to say it, but ever since that night Ame had been in a particularly bad mood.

It wasn't obvious. No matter how angry she was Ame never turned her temper on other uninvolved people. Still it showed. She was a bit curter and a little less quick to smile. She spent more time tapping away at her phone and scowling at whatever she saw.

Ema hadn't wanted to bring it up, partly because she wasn't a very confrontational person, and partly because she'd hoped that the problem would go away by itself the way most of Ame's tempers did. However it was been three whole days and Ame was currently glaring at the TV like it had spit in her tea.

On the widescreen display, Fuuto stood between two Grecian pillars and stared out at a beautiful panoramic view of the ocean. The sound of the waves and the chirping of birds played clearly through the high quality speakers and then, as Fuuto turned to smile charmingly into the camera, it picked up his voice.

" _I didn't think a morning where I could greet you like this would ever come. I love you, from now on, eternally and always._ " And then right after that a mechanically cheerful female voice rattled off something about the Pan-Pacific Travel Service.

Yuusuke groaned loudly as the advertisement ended. "Ugh, I can't do this. I can't listen to this anymore!"

Kaname laughed and paused the TV right on a close-up of Fuuto's face. "He's not bad." He then passed the remote to Wataru who rewound the video again to the beginning and this time both Yuusuke and Ame groaned dramatically.

"Haven't you had enough of this?!" The redhead snapped exasperatedly and snatched the remote out of Wataru's tiny hands. "Why do we have to look at Fuuto's face over and over? Go find a picture if you want to do that!"

Kaname snickered as he watched the two bicker and then he turned to Ame who was sitting right beside him. "So what's your beef with Fuu-chan?" He teased.

"I have my issues," Ame replied cryptically. She paused for a long time and then added, "also I've seen this dumb commercial everywhere and if I see it one more time I may have to kill someone."

"Also some of the students kept playing the video in class so Ame had to confiscate their phones except then they crowded into my classroom and begged Fuuto to recreate the scene so Ame had to give out a bunch of detentions," Ema added.

"That too."

Masaomi chuckled. "But this commercial is quite popular. I guess Fuu-chan is popular even with older ladies."

"It's causing some commotion," Ukyo joined the conversation as he walked into the room. In his hands he carried a tray of steaming teacups. Ame quickly zeroed in on the milkiest drink. "This travel agency has never hired idols before. As a result the New Caledonia Hotel used in the advert is receiving a lot of reservations."

"I want to go there too!" Wataru chirped, bouncing up and down in place like a spring. "I want to go to New Currydonia!"

"It's New Caledonia," Ema giggled as she corrected him. "But yeah, it does look beautiful."

"Sounds good! I'd love to spend a holiday there with my little sisters," Kaname draped a casually affectionate arm around Ame who only spared the point of contact a brief glance before focusing on her tea.

"Then why don't we all go?" Masaomi suggested nonchalantly, as if spur of the moment international trips were something just anyone could do. Maybe they were when one half of your family were internationally acclaimed.

At least Ame wasn't the only one who was surprised. Apparently no one had expected that response."T-Together?" Ukyo stared at Masaomi bemusedly. "All of us?"

"Sure. What do you think about going during the summer vacation?" He turned to the two girls expectantly. "This would be your first holiday with us so I want you both to have fun, and I know Ema-chan and Yuusuke both have university exams coming up. You've both been studying so hard but it's important to take a breather once in a while."

"Masa-nii..."

Ema turned to grin at her sister and Ame smiled back at her. It seemed as though whatever had been bothering her was gone at least temporarily. Sometimes Ema wished that her sister would talk to her instead of bottling everything up inside, but then again if it was anything really bad, her sister would tell her. Right?

 **To the people asking why I changed their ages: when I first wrote this story I wasn't sure how old Ema was. I assumed she was 16 so I made Ame 18/19, but then I heard she was actually 17 so I got confused and long story short Ema's age was unclear to me because I am that dumb thank u.**

 **Also why don't people like Kaname? I've seen a bunch of reviews of people not liking him like come on he is arguably the best brother here, a true ride or die (literally hehehe), and despite some minor flirting which honestly I think is just his default state homeboy respects u and your choices.**


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